CORRECTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS - A CASE FOR AN ORGANIZATIONAL APPROACH

• NCJ Number: 53885
• Author(s): K WRIGHT
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 341 pages
• Sale Source: UMI Dissertation Services
• Publication Type: Thesis/Dissertation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY - DOCTORAL DISSERTATION

Annotation

THE EFFECTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL FEATURES ON CLIENT OUTCOMES ARE EXPLORED IN A COMPARISON OF EIGHT AGENCIES REPRESENTING DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONAL 'SOCIAL CLIMATES' AND APPROACHES TO CORRECTIONS.

Abstract

SIX OF THE ORGANIZATIONS ARE SMALL, COMMUNITY-BASED PRERELEASE CENTERS. TWO ARE LARGE STATE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS. THE FORMER ARE CONSIDERED INNOVATIVE, THE LATTER TRADITIONAL. SOCIAL CLIMATE IS DEFINED AS THE TOTAL EFFECT OF THE DAY-TO-DAY INTERACTIONS AMONG ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERS. TWO DIMENSIONS OF THESE EFFECTS--ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS AND ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT--ARE CONSIDERED. WHEN AN INSTRUMENT DESIGNED TO MEASURE VARIABLES ASSOCIATED WITH SOCIAL CLIMATE WAS ADMINISTERED TO THE MEMBERS OF THE EIGHT ORGANIZATIONS, DIFFERENCES ON SEVERAL VARIABLES WERE FOUND. TO EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITY OF A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THESE DIFFERENCES AND CLIENT OUTCOMES, BACKGROUND AND RECIDIVISM STATUS WERE EXAMINED FOR SELECTED CLIENTS FROM EACH PROGRAM. (RECIDIVISM WAS DEFINED IN TERMS OF PAROLE FAILURE DURING A 1-YEAR FOLLOWUP PERIOD.) THE ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS REVEALS THAT INNOVATIVE AND TRADITIONAL ORGANIZATIONS DID NOT DIFFER ON ALL SOCIAL CLIMATE VARIABLES, AND THAT CONSIDERABLE DIFFERENCES EXISTED AMONG INNOVATIVE ORGANIZATIONS. FOR EXAMPLE, SOME OF THE COMMUNITY-BASED CENTERS WERE QUITE LIBERAL IN THEIR TREATMENT GOALS, WHILE OTHERS WERE RESTRICTIVE. THE OUTCOME ANALYSIS DOES NOT PROVE THAT SOCIAL CLIMATE IS THE SOLE DETERMINANT OF CLIENT OUTCOME. HOWEVER, RECIDIVISM DOES SEEM TO BE RELATED TO THE ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESSES DEFINED AS SOCIAL CLIMATE. A PARTICULARLY STRONG LINK WAS FOUND BETWEEN RECIDIVISM AND THE SOCIAL CLIMATE VARIABLES OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL COHESION. THE FINDINGS ARE SAID TO ARGUE AGAINST ABANDONNING EFFORTS TO DEVELOP ALTERNATIVES TO INSTITUTIONALIZATION AS A MEANS OF REDUCING RECIDIVISM. IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS ARE DISCUSSED AT LENGTH, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY ARE OFFERED. FULL DETAILS OF STUDY CONCEPTS, METHODS, AND FINDINGS ARE PROVIDED, TOGETHER WITH SUPPORTING DATA, COPIES OF STUDY INSTRUMENTS, AND A LIST OF REFERENCES. (LKM)