Open Systems Theory In Practice: Village Of Clayton Police Department
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Theory in Practice There are many ways in which an academic phenomenon applies to real world situations. From this comes the notion that there is only so much information an individual can learn from a traditional classroom learning environment. To furthermore an understanding one must indulge in the real world application of their learning to help better shape the understanding of material. For most of the real world applications comes a theory that supports its authenticity. These theories are developed by academics and professionals in the field and are discovered to commonly occur within that field. In the criminal justice field there are a lot of different theories in which apply to the multitude of careers available in the field. Some…show more content… One of the theories is an open systems theory. An open systems theory entails the interactions of the environment around an organization and the way that the environment and the organization affect one another. If the environment affects the organization in one way it may result in a certain outcome and if the organization affects the environment back in a different way it may produce a different outcome as well. So there is a fine line of equilibrium from both the environment and the organization in which create a common ground to work from. When this common ground is established it creates the best opportunity for productive and efficient work to be…show more content… Chief Patenaude has shown his officers how being comfortable and relaxed while doing the job creates a motivating environment. Chief Patenaude also knows that the stress level of staying relaxed makes the job a lot more taxing mentally and physically on his officers. A human relations theory applies to the Clayton Police Department very well because within the department itself is an environment in which creates a friendly and approachable relationship foundation while also maintain professionalism at the same time. For example during a shift when Sergeant Cobb had questions about a particular case involving a registered sex offender; he was able to contact the chief when off duty with no hesitation to follow up on any other information the chief may have previously known. This type of personal communication may not be found in a larger department when you can only contact the captain or other ranking officers while they’re on duty. This type of relation between officers in any department is very rare as the para-military structure of law enforcement presents its own obstacles with its hierarchy and chain of command. There is an article that studied the way that community policing and compstat help the relation of inter-organizational communication and the effects of output of the work from the individuals in the organization. (Willis, 2013) Compstat is a method of crime