Chapter 1: The Dynamics of Police Organizations
Multiple-Choice Items
1.
Undoubtedly, the first organizations were:
a.
English police agencies.
b.
early automobile companies.
c.
d.
primitive hunting parties.
bands of robber barons.
c
2.
An organization may be defined loosely as a/an:
a. “consciously coordinated social entity. . . with an identifiable boundary. . . that is to achieve
goals.”
b. “unconscious grouping. . . of intertwined individuals who are loosely coupled systems.”
c. “a set of written guidelines and policies that carry a unit forward.”
d. none of the above.
a
3.
In the 1970s experts on police organization such as Egon Bittner were contending that
the bureaucratic organization:
a.
was an advantage for the police.
b.
was a handicap to the police.
c.
was better utilized if applied under the military model.
d.
was, and should be, a permanent fixture.
b
4.
Reasons given for the view of Bittner and others in question #3 above included all but which one
of the following?
a.
The quasi-military rank and discipline of police organizations
b
Communication blockage
c.
The lack of opportunity for management to match talent and position
d.
All of the above
e.
None of the above
d
5.
Weber viewed a bureaucracy as:
a.
capable of attaining the highest degree of efficiency.
b.
extremely slow and complicated.
c.
a highly esteemed organization that protected individual freedoms.
d.
a type of administration that focused on adherence to rules and regulations.
a
6.
Rules and regulations in a police organization:
a. are specific guidelines.
c. provide preferred methods for handling matters.
b. are unity of command.
d. are non-existent.
a
7.
Several authors now advocate for higher spans of control, believing that higher spans of control
provide all but which one of the following benefits:
a.
reductions in the distortion of information as it flows through the organization.
b.
less slow, ineffective decision making and action.
c.
an argument to justify greater numbers of officers from the governing board.
d.
greater emphasis on controlling the bureaucracy rather than on customer service.
c
8.
Unity of command in a police organization:
a.
consists of only specific guidelines.
b.
is a principle meaning that every officer reports to one and only one superior.
c.
provides preferred methods for handling matters.
d.
is non-existent.
b.
9.
Which of the following is not one of Fayol’s principles?
a.
A division of work: specialization
b.
Order: a place for everyone and everyone in his or her place
c.
Unity of command: an employee receiving orders from only one supervisor
d.
Individual responsibility: an employee fulfilling obligations
d
10.
The term span of control:
a.
refers to the number of persons one individual can effectively supervise.
b.
deals with the amount of subunits a superior has under his or her command.
c.
ensures that multiple or conflicting orders are not issued to the same officers by several
supervisors.
d.
was founded by Edwards Deming.
a
11.
What did the Hawthorne experiments conclude?
a.
Illumination alone increases productivity.
b.
As the number of work breaks consistently increased, so did the productivity levels.
c.
Productivity was mainly due to increased involvement and concern from the
management.
d.
A combination of plenty of illumination and no work breaks improved productivity.
c
12.
Taylor’s standardization of work included all but which of the following?
a. Creation of work groups
c. Established workplace rules
b. Improved worker selection
d. Provided specific tasks
a
13.
The systems approach takes into account the potential impact of decisions on all but which of the
following external factors?
a. Other justice agencies
c. Structure of police system
b. General public
d. Political environment
c
14.
Which of the following is not a belief of a Theory X style manager?
a. Employees enjoy work.
c. Employees are lazy.
b. Employees are self-centered.
d. Employees avoid responsibility.
a
15.
b
Which of the following is not a belief of a Theory Y manager?
a.
Employees seek responsibility.
b.
Employees need to be directed.
c.
Employees will exercise self-control.
d.
Employees have a capacity for imagination.
16.
Which theory is based on biology, stating that an organization is similar to a living organism?
a.
Classical
c.
Existential
b.
Systems
d.
Human relations
b
17.
a
Which of the following is not an influencing factor in organization of policing?
a.
Lack of communication between departments
b.
Informal organization
c.
Police culture
d.
Employee organizations and unions
18.
Community policing can be defined as:
a.
militaristic with clear cut rules and disciplinary systems.
b.
allowing the community to police itself.
c.
a proactive approach that is decentralized in structure.
d.
an abandonment of all traditional laws and procedures.
c
19.
What distinguishes higher ranking officers from supervisors?
a.
Higher ranking officers perform a managerial function that involves both planning and
staffing.
b.
Higher ranking officers have more knowledge in the field of policing.
c.
Higher ranking officers are able to give orders to subordinates due to the quasi-military
chain of command.
d.
Higher ranking officers are better able to manage subordinates due to their extensive
experience.
a
20.
b
What is the meaning of POSDCORB?
a.
Preparing, organizing, structuring, directing, cooperating, and responding
b.
Planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, and reporting
c.
Planning, ordering, supervising, developing, controlling, and regulating
d.
Planning, organizing, structuring, disciplining, commanding, and reporting
True-False Items
1.
No two organizations are exactly alike.
t
2.
Police agencies seldom truly fit the description of an “organization.”
f
3.
Police organizations in the United States are also bureaucracies.
t
4.
Administrative theory is more compatible with the bureaucratic model than with scientific
management.
t
5.
The Hawthorne experiment signaled a need for management to decrease personal involvement
with workers in order to increase productivity.
f
6.
The era of community policing and problem solving requires more bureaucracy and little support
by supervisors.
f
7.
Some people argue that rank-and-file employees favor high spans of control because they
receive less micromanaged supervision and greater responsibility and trust by their supervisors.
t
8.
A potentially major disadvantage to having a high span of control is that is means there is far too
much time for supervisors to spend with any one subordinate.
f
9.
Contemporary management theory holds that the smaller spans of control for wielding close
supervision over employees should give way to higher spans of control and flatter organizations.
t
10.
Although a consensus on the ideal ratio for span of control has not been reached, some experts
recommend ratios ranging from 25 to 40 subordinates per supervisor.
f
11.
Policies are quite general in nature and serve basically as guides to thinking.
t
12.
Most police departments today still use classical theory as the basis for organizing.
t
13.
Frederick Taylor was the first to introduce time and motion studies.
t
14.
Labor unions endorsed, and help spread, Taylor’s work.
f
15.
Gulick and Urwick emphasized the need for coordinating work by dividing labor within formal
organizations.
t
16.
The utilization of hierarchy and bureaucracy no longer exists in policing.
f
17.
The informal organization can harm the goals of the formal organization through gossip,
misinformation, and malicious rumors.
t
18.
Change in police agencies are rarely characterized by the use of centralized decision making and
coercive tactics.
f
19.
The brunt of direction and control usually falls on the shoulders of the supervisor.
t
20.
In general, large American police departments averaged from nine to thirteen levels of rank.
t
21.
Ambiguity over authority rarely occurs in police organizations.
f
22.
Theory X states that the average employee does not dislike work.
f
23.
Police managers and supervisors must act as viable change agents in order to facilitate planned
organizational change.
t
24.
Through his studies, Bittner found that the military-bureaucratic organization of the police is
beneficial to creating a truly professional police system.
f
Essay Items
1.
Define an organization, the individual’s role within it, and how it contributes to our society.
2.
Explain how police agencies meet the definition of an organization and a bureaucracy.
3.
Distinguish between policies, procedures, and rules and regulations.
4.
Explain the terms unity of command and span of control.
5.
Discuss the major concerns in organizing.
6.
Discuss the key elements of community policing and how the police organization in
Hayward, California incorporated some of these principles.