1. Chapter Nine – Occupational Socialization

2.  Understand occupational socialization  Understand the basic precepts of organizational culture  Understand the socialization process as it applies to criminal justice agencies  Be able to discuss the problems in the socialization process in criminal justice agencies  Understand the basic strategies for socialization

3.  The process by which a person acquires the values, attitudes, and behaviors of an ongoing occupational social system.  It is a continuous process and may result in both legal and illegal behaviors.  Habitual behaviors, both good or bad, persist as long as the attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, habits and expectations of the members remain supportive of them.

4.  A set of assumptions, values, and beliefs shared by members of an organization.  These create language, symbols, folklore, and direct the behaviors of the organizational members.  Organizational cultures are invented, discovered, or developed by groups in order to cope with external influences and internal change.

5.  Culture – complex whole of society and includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs and other capabilities and routines  Values – desirable goals  Norms – specify what people should do  Folkways – standard ways of doing things  Mores – strong views of right and wrong  Laws – codified mores

6.  Social control – the process of perpetuating conformity to the culture  Sanctions – rewards and punishments for conformity. Can be formal or informal.  Subcultures – groups that have their own beliefs and norms while sharing the values of the dominant culture  Counterculture – groups whose shared values differ substantially from those of the dominant culture

7.  Key questions o How is the culture formed? o What forces are critical in forming the culture? o How the cultural arrangements impact the organizational goals? o How and to what extent administrators can influence the cultural arrangement of their agency?

8.  The socialization process is both formal and informal.  Stages o Anticipatory – prior to employment prospective employees adhere to certain behavioral standards o Formal – occurs through formal training and active supervision o Informal – occurs though interaction with “significant other” peers, managers and even clients

9.  A model of influences (Katz and Kahn, 1978) explains how socializing influences affect the individual. o Role expectations – standards of behavior o Sent role – communication of expectations o Received role – the individual’s perception and understanding of the sent role o Role behavior – the individual’s response to the complex information received

11.  Most socialization problems are related to role conflict. o Compliance with one role expectation results in a lack of compliance to another.  Role conflict results in low job satisfaction, poor performance, and stress.  In extreme cases corruption and official deviance can occur. o Behavior that is illegal but encouraged by the organization’s culture

12.  No evidence that authoritarian or violence seeking individuals are attracted to police work.  Police officers are subjected to a rather intense socialization process.  Structural aspects that connect police officers o Police work is depersonalizing o Solidarity in the drive toward professionalism o The ambiguous nature of police work

13.  Correctional employees are attracted to the profession because of its regular pay and job security.  Most new correctional employees know very little about the job.  Unlike police officers, correctional officers often delay formal training until after a few months of on the job training and informal socialization.  Informal socialization appears to be more influential than formal socialization.

14.  Community expectations affect the socialization process.  Within the context of community expectations; o Appropriate behaviors are rewarded with public recognition, and o Inappropriate behaviors are punished by public criticism.  Well trained and educated practitioners are more likely to meet community expectations.

15.  The socialization process can be influenced by effective and deliberate leadership.  Changing the culture begins with changing recruiting processes and selection criteria.  Formalizing the training process and distancing it from the actual work improve and objectify the socialization process.

16.  Collective socialization – training new members as a group (i.e. formal academy training)  Sequential socialization – trainees pass through discrete stages on the way to becoming a fully accepted member of the group (e.g. post training probationary periods)  Serial socialization – relies on experienced veterans to develop newcomers (e.g. field training officer programs  Divestiture strategies – attempt to strip away certain characteristics before an individual is allowed into the group (e.g. haircuts and special uniforms)

17.  The formal socialization process is a mechanism for the organization to impose its dominant belief system and rules upon its members.  Subtle messages from the command staff are influential in either discouraging or encouraging unethical behaviors.  Autocratic management styles tend to drive wedges between employees and the organization which may result in various forms of unethical behavior.

18.  Occupational socialization is a process by which a member of an organization acquires the values, attitudes, and behaviors of an ongoing occupational social system.  This process may include formal training and will include social interactions with work peers.  Organizational culture is a set of assumptions, values, and beliefs shared by members of an organization.  Organizational culture includes language, symbols, and folklore that direct the behavior of the organization’s members.  Anticipatory socialization is often based upon media, movies, and television program. It is often inaccurate.

19.  Formal socialization is often weak and informal socialization is usually strong.  Criminal justice practitioners face role conflict, role ambiguity, conflicting expectations, and contradictory goals. Hence, the socialization process presents conflicting stimuli.  Managers continuously influence the socialization process.  Organizational socialization begins with recruiting and selection and is accomplished though the orientation and training processes.  Supervision provides a continuous impact on formal socialization.

20.  You have just been elected Sheriff of the Boone County Sheriff’s Department.  Your initial review of the department indicates a very loosely managed and controlled organization.  Training is haphazard, supervision is nearly nonexistent, and deputies are allowed to come and go as they please.  The department recently lost a class action suit filed by a group of Hispanic inmates who were repeatedly physically assaulted by a group of ten jailers.

21.  You have come to the conclusion that the Department’s subculture is corruption prone.  Using the information from this chapter develop a plan for addressing and changing the Department’s organizational culture so that it becomes more conducive to the standards of ethical policing practice.