Criminal Justice Organizations: Administration and Management

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Criminal Justice Organizations Administration
and Management

• Chapter Four Problems of Communication

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Learning Objectives

• Know the five steps of the communication process
• Be familiar with the nine barriers to
  communications
• Understand how communication and information flow
  through an agencys chain of command
• Understand informal communication networks in the
  workplace
• Understand nonverbal communication
• Understand the difference between communication
  and information
• Understand exchange theory exchange networks
• Be able to define linking pin theory
• Understand the ethical issues relating to
  communications

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Basic Theory of Communication

• Interpersonal communication begins with a dyad
  one individual sending information to another
  person who receives it.
• Communication is a sequential process.
• Person A (sender) encodes a message and transmits
  it through some medium.
• Person B (receiver) receives the message and
  decodes it.
• Any interruption of this process diminishes the
  communication.

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Basic Theory of Communication

• Process
• Begins when the sender feels the need to
  communicate.
• Encoding the sender translates the message into
  words or symbols
• Transmission the sender conveys the message
  through a chosen medium (e.g. e-mail)
• Decoding the receiver interprets and determines
  the meaning of the message
• In organizations we must consider dyad functions
  between individuals, multiple dyads with groups
  and groups external to the organization.

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Basic Theory of Communication

• Barriers
• Preconceived ideas
• Denial of contrary information
• Use of personal meanings
• Lack of motivation or interest
• Non-credibility of the source
• Lack of communication skills
• Poor organizational climate
• Use of complex channels
• Communication gap

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Basic Theory of Communication
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Communication in Organizations

• The communication process between individuals is
  simple, but has a high potential for failure.
• Communications within organizations is far more
  complex and affected by the
• Organizational climate,
• Complexity of communication channels,
• Chain of command and hierarchy, and
• Informal social system.

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Communication in Organizations

• Chain of command
• Filters messages and may be a barrier
• Downward communication allows executives a
  clear path to send information to subordinates
• Horizontal communication enables members at the
  same level to share information, solve problems,
  and coordinate activities
• Informal communication
• A reaction to cumbersome formal communication
  channels the grapevine.

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Communication in Organizations

• Organizational rules for communication
• Exclusionary rules limit and differentiate
  information that can and cannot be used within
  certain contexts
• Organizational rules are often understood and
  highly influenced by the hierarchical nature of
  the organization.
• Content rules govern standard word usage
• Procedural rules govern how and when
  communication happens

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Communication in Organizations

• Informal communication networks
• Social structures that evolve through repeated
  communication between individuals and groups.
• Kinship networks formed more for personal than
  professional reasons
• Nonverbal communication
• The oldest and often most powerful form of
  communication.
• Rely on symbols, posture, inflection and other
  non-spoken elements of the message

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Communication in Organizations

• Information and Communication
• Information is the substance of communication
• Communication is the process of sharing
  information
• Load the rate and complexity of communication
• Overload occurs when the flow of messages
  exceeds and individuals or systems capacity to
  process them. Affected by
• Dependence on the information
• Capacity of the receiver
• Receivers desire for the information

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Communication in Organizations

• Determinants of communication load
• Absolute information knowledge expressed in
  recognized symbolic terms
• Distributed information knowledge dispersed
• Forms of information
• Environmental
• Motivational
• Instructional

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Communication RolesCriminal Justice Practitioners

• Networks are dynamic because their members may
  enter or leave at any time.
• Criminal justice workers may be a members of
  multiple networks simultaneously.
• Networks tend to interlock with each other
  through common members.
• The number of potential networks is virtually
  endless.

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Communication RolesCriminal Justice Practitioners
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Communication RolesCriminal Justice Practitioners
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Communication RolesCriminal Justice Practitioners
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Communication RolesCriminal Justice Practitioners
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Developing Informal Communication Networks

• Informal networks are created in order to achieve
  greater efficiencies or avoid historical
  communication barriers.
• Exchange theory workers trade information and
  assistance with other workers in order to gain
  efficiencies.
• Linking pins individuals who serve as conduits
  between the groups they are a members of.

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Implications

• Environmental communication
• In criminal justice the publics right or need to
  know is balanced with the necessity of keeping
  some information confidential.
• Intra-organizational communication
• Hampered by the differential rules and
  expectations of other organizations.
• Inter-organizational communication
• The need for communication between all levels of
  the criminal justice system is more important
  following recent increases in terrorism.

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Communication Technology

• The Internet has created new technologies that
  both facilitate and hamper communication.
• Technological innovations sometimes conflict with
  information security procedures.
• Tele- and videoconferencing enhance communication
  but do not replace face to face interaction.

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Ethical Problems

• Ethical communication requires
• An understanding of the importance of the
  communication process,
• A commitment to create, promote and protect
  ethical boundaries for conversation and
  information sharing,
• The avoidance of misusing information as a method
  of control, and
• The setting of boundaries and rules for
  communication.

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Thinking Point and Question

• Using the information contained in this chapter,
  develop a comprehensive plan for improving
  inter-agency communication. Your plan, at a
  minimum, should include
• Strategies for overcoming communication barriers,
• Opportunities for developing formal and informal
  communications resources, and
• The use of technology to improve communications.
• Describe how your plan would work between the
  police, fire and building permit functions.

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Chapter Summary

• The five steps of the communication process
  include encoding, transmitting, selecting a
  medium or channel, receiving, and decoding
• The nine barriers to communication include
  preconceived ideas, denial of contrary
  information, use of personalized meanings, lack
  of motivation or interest, non-credibility of
  source, lack of communication skills, poor
  organizational climate, use of complex channels,
  and communication gap.
• In a hierarchical organization, communication
  flows downward from superior to subordinate and
  upward from subordinate to superior.

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Chapter Summary

• Executives do not communicate directly with field
  workers and vice versa.
• Horizontal communication facilitates
  coordination.
• Informal communication networks form on their own
  and for some purpose.
• Individuals who are part of an informal
  communication network share information with each
  other but not with others who are not included.
• Nonverbal communication is part of the message
  when individuals communicate face to face.

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Chapter Summary

• Communication is a process that sends a message
  while information is the actual message.
• In an exchange network members communicate
  regularly and exchange information for
  information. Information in these networks is a
  commodity.
• Productivity in industry is higher in agencies
  that are coordinated by interlocking work groups
  rather than by a monolithic chain of command.
• The groups are bound together by individuals
  (linking pins) who are members of more than one
  group.

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Thinking Point and Question

• The newly elected Mayor is concerned about the
  apparent lack of communication between agencies
  within the citys government.
• She calls a meeting of department heads and
  observes a palpable level of inter-agency
  distrust.
• You, as an Assistant City Manager, are asked to
  develop stronger lines of communication between
  these agencies.