NCJ Number
54815
Date Published
1978
Length
31 pages
Annotation
THE GOAL-ORIENTED NATURE OF ORGANIZATIONS IS A CRIMINOGENIC FACTOR, LEADING PARTICULAR DEPARTMENTS AND PERSONNEL TO CONFUSE MEANS AND ENDS TO ATTAIN GOALS. INSTANCES OF CORPORATE WRONGDOING ILLUSTRATE THE PAPER.
Abstract
ORGANIZATIONS ARE TYPICALLY DEFINED AS SOCIAL ARRANGEMENTS THAT COORDINATE EFFORTS TOWARD THE ATTAINMENT OF COLLECTIVE GOALS. GIVEN A SITUATION OF UNCERTAINTY IN ATTAINING GOALS AND ONE IN WHICH AN ORGANIZATION IS JUDGED BY ITS SUCCESS IN GOAL ATTAINMENT OR PERFORMANCE, ONE CAN PREDICT THAT AN ORGANIZATION WILL, IF NECESSARY, ENGAGE IN CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR IN ATTAIN ITS GOALS. THIS REPRESENTS A COMMONLY ACCEPTED GENERALIZATION: WHEN INDIVIDUALS ARE PLACED IN A POSITION WHERE PERFORMANCE IS EMPHASIZED, PRESSURE TO VIOLATE NORMS WILL EXIST. WHILE INDIVIDUALS HAVE GOALS AND ARE FREQUENTLY JUDGED BY THEIR SUCCESS IN ATTAINING THEM, THEY ARE NOT MERE GOAL-PURSUING ENTITIES; THEY ARE ALSO CONCERNED WITH CONSUMMATORY ACTIVITIES AND ARE VALUED AS WHOLE PERSONS. ORGANIZATIONS ENGAGE IN STRATEGIES TO REDUCE UNCERTAINTY AND ARE MORE CAPABLE OF REDUCING UNCERTAINTY THAN INDIVIDUALS. WIDE PERSONALITY SPLITS IN INDIVIDUALS ARE ASSUMED BY MANY PSYCHIATRISTS TO BE SYMPTOMATIC OF SOME DISORDER. IN ORGANIZATIONS, DIVISION OF LABOR AND DEPARTMENTAL SPECIALIZATION ARE NOT INDICATIVE OF SOME PROCESS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA BUT ARE RATHER THE BASIS OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE. EVIDENCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CRIME IS EXTENSIVE. FOUR CONTENTIONS RELATED TO THE CRIMINOGENIC NATURE OF ORGANIZATIONS ARE SPECIFIED: (1) AS AN ORGANIZATION IS MORE SUBJECT TO ACCOUNTABILITY (I.E., JUDGMENT OF GOAL ATTAINMENT), THE LIKELIHOOD IS GREATER THAT IT WILL ENGAGE IN CRIME; (2) ORGANIZATIONS VARY IN THE EXTENT TO WHICH THEIR OUTPUTS ARE MEASURABLE AND THE EXTENT OF AGREEMENT ON THE VALUE OF OUTPUTS; (3) PRESSURE TO ENGAGE IN CRIME IS LIKELY TO BE INVERSELY RELATED TO GOAL DISPLACEMENT (I.E., A DEVICE THAT REDUCES AN ORGANIZATION'S NEED TO ADOPT DEVIANT MEANS TO ATTAIN GOALS IN FAVOR OF THE MINIMAL GOALS AND EFFORTS NEEDED TO KEEP THE ORGANIZATION ALIVE); AND (4) IN GENERAL, PARTS OF AN ORGANIZATION MOST EXPOSED TO ITS ENVIRONMENT WILL BE THOSE PARTS MOST SUBJECT TO DEVIATE. STUDIES SHOW THAT ONLY A SMALL PROPORTION OF INDIVIDUALS WITHIN AN ORGANIZATION STRIVE FOR OR EVENTUALLY ATTAIN HIGH POSITIONS. DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF THIS SMALL GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS ARE AMBITIOUSNESS, SHREWDNESS, AND MORAL FLEXIBILITY. THE PROBLEM WITH ORGANIZATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONAL CRIME INVOLVES GOALS, WHATEVER GOALS HAPPEN TO BE. A LIST OF REFERENCES IS ACCOMPANIED BY FOOTNOTES.