The Spring Valley Case Study

Introduction

The Spring Valley case study demonstrates a failure in the leadership of the county detention center. The detention center is lagging in progress as provided by the failure of the warden. Pick, Teo & Tummers (2015) points out in the journal of organizational management that successful models follow a hierarchical system of leadership. This is the condition where the junior and subordinate staff relies on the management and strong leadership skills to execute the command. The first instance of correct leadership is witnessed through the election of law as the warden. In his first weeks of service, he corrects the detention center and improves on the services being delivered. However, at the expense of time, the junior officers are constantly complaining that perhaps the officer Law is suffering from illness and retirement on duty.

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Lack of appropriate leadership causes a failure in communication. The warden is rarely seen and the officers find it hard executing their duties. The lack of motivation to work is echoed by officers that claim supervisors merely maintain the status quo and they make decisions with much reluctance. Additionally, this behavior has caused the detention center a lawsuit, where the families of two inmates have filed a case against the center calling for neglect of duties. Lack of leadership is the cause of reluctance, stagnation, and demotivation to work.

Who are constituents of the detention center? How are they affected by the situation?

The Spring Valley detention center constitutes of the Upper management office, mid-management office, and the correctional facilities. The upper management constitutes of the warden and his deputy while the mid-management office is constituted by correctional officers who run the correctional facilities.

What is the result when supervisors focus on process instead of people?

The leadership failure situation causes a lack of commitment and demotivation from the work. As complained by the deputy warden and the mid officers, they state that they cannot make decisions for they feel they are tied by the absence of the warden. Failure in commitment eventually leads to neglect of duties that affects the correctional facilities. The lawsuit charged against the detention center is made on the basis that one of the inmates died of suicide and the other from an accidental fall. This proves that the officers have neglected their duties of protecting the inmates from self-harm and fellow inmates' harm.

What trends found in Ch. 3 of Managing Police Organizations should the detention center embrace?

The trends in the management of police organizations have been developed on the aspiration of changers at the global level. On the contrast of an organization of total control, the current police organization is vested in strategies that integrate citizens in normal police work. The application of these strategies also helps to increase the transparency of the organization increasing the efficiency of the organization. In application to the Spring Valley detention center, the correction system can apply a multi-dimensional system of communication. This is a better more defined system of communication that will allow the center to operate even under the failure of the management. For instance, allowing and linking the Spring Valley detention center to another county detention center will allow the system to run in the absence of the management.

Technology plays a crucial role in contemporary society, being the most applied unit across multiple industries. Technology can be assimilated to the detention center in aid of monitoring the activities and health of the inmates and correctional officers. Small microchips can be planted on the inmates to monitor the inmate’s health; this will help increase the transparency of the system. The core elements of managing police organizations are planning, control, and leadership. Therefore, to effect changes the police department will be required to develop a hierarchical system of planning events, control systems, and strong leadership that binds the units of the detention system. Implementing the recommendations would follow strong leadership and command that will allow the detention center to effect changes at the stipulated timelines.

Criminal Justice Organizations suggest needs to change at the detention center? What attributes of leaders is suggested?

The success of a detention center lies on the foundation of leadership. As discussed by Cordner & Kenney (2016) they describe leadership as a phenomenon and a binding agent to the unity of the different constituents of a correctional center. The case study demonstrates that failure of leadership and the consequences of such actions, therefore, it would be appropriate to initiate new leadership that will allow the correctional center to implement changes and affect their policies. Strong leadership as suggested by Pick et al., (2015) will enable the organization to run every department, initiate teamwork and cooperation among the different departments hence providing the success of the organization.

The research suggests that attributes of leadership that requires changing include; communication, decision making, and support. A leader should support his team by providing directions on their tasks, objectives, and motivation to work. Therefore, the attributes of strong detention leadership are described by Cordner & Kenney (2016) as a highly motivated, charismatic, energetic, reflective, and innovative. The five pillars of leadership describe a situation where the detention leader will be able to adjust to different situations effectively for the benefit of the officers and the inmates. The success of a detention leader describes the benefits accrued by the whole center.

References

Cordner, G. W., & Kenney, D. J. (Eds.). (2016). Managing police organizations. Anderson Publishing Company.

Pick, D., Teo, S. T., Tummers, L., Newton, C., Kellis, D. S., & Ran, B. (2015). Effective leadership in managing NPM-based change in the public sector. Journal of Organizational Change Management.