ORGANIZATIONS AS CRIMINAL ACTORS (FROM TWO FACES OF DEVIANCE - CRIMES OF THE POWERLESS AND POWERFUL, 1978, BY PAUL R WILSON AND JOHN BRAITHWAITE - SEE NCJ-62117)

• NCJ Number: 62124
• Author(s): E GROSS
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 15 pages
• Corporate Author: University of Queensland Press
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: SOME PORTIONS OF THIS ARTICLE HAVE DRAWN UPON THE AUTHOR'S ORGANIZATIONAL CRIME - A THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE IN STUDIES IN SYMBOLIC INTERACTION, NORMAN DENZIN, ED (JAI PRESS 1977)

Annotation

THIS ESSAY ADVANCES THE THESIS THAT ALL ORGANIZATIONS ARE INHERENTLY CRIMINAL BECAUSE BOTH THEIR INTERNAL STRUCTURE AND THEIR EMPHASIS ON GOAL ACHIEVEMENT FOSTER CRIMINALITY.

Abstract

ORGANIZATIONAL THEORISTS DEFINE ORGANIZATIONS AS SOCIAL STRUCTURES WHICH COORDINATE INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS IN ORDER TO ATTAIN GOALS. DESPITE PUBLIC IMAGES TO THE CONTRARY, ORGANIZATIONS ARE NOT EFFICIENT, SMOOTHLY RUNNING MACHINES. THE COMPETITIVE ATMOSPHERE IN WHICH THEY OPERATE, AND THE DIFFICULTIES THEY ENCOUNTER IN ACHIEVING GOALS SET, PROMOTE CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR TO ACHIEVE THE ORGANIZATION'S GOALS. UNLIKE INDIVIDUALS, ORGANIZATIONS ARE SUBJECT TO CONTINUOUS MONITORING, PRESSURES TO PERFORM, EFFORTS TO REDUCE UNCERTAINTY, AND DIFFUSED RESPONSIBILITY. ALL THESE FACTORS PROMOTE CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR. DATA FROM THE U.S., JAPAN, GERMANY, AND AUSTRALIA SUPORT THESE VIEWS. FIVE PLAUSIBLE HYPOTHESES ARE: (1) GREATER ORGANIZATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY INCREASES THE LIKELIHOOD OF CRIME; (2) HUMAN SERVICES ORGANIZATIONS WHOSE OUTPUTS ARE DIFFICULT TO MEASURE ARE LESS CRIMINOGENIC THAN ARE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS; (3) PRESSURE TO COMMIT CRIME DECREASES IF THE ORGANIZATION IS ABLE TO SHIFT ITS GOALS; AND (4) THE MOST DEVIANT BEHAVIOR OCCURS IN THE PARTS OF THE ORGANIZATION THAT ARE MOST CLOSELY INVOLVED WITH THE ORGANIZATION'S CLIENTS; AND (5) DECENTRALIZATION PROMOTES CRIME IN DECENTRALIZED UNITS. THIS ANALYSIS ALSO SUGGESTS THAT THESE PROBLEMS ARE PROBABLY GREATER THAN IN SOCIALIST COUNTRIES THAN IN CAPITALIST COUNTRIES AND THAT ORGANIZATIONS' DOMINANT POSITIONS IN CURRENT SOCIETIES RESULT NOT FROM THEIR EFFICIENCY BUT BECAUSE OF THEIR POWER WHICH PREVENTS DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVE METHODS FOR ACHIEVING SOCIAL GOALS. FOOTNOTES WHICH INCLUDE REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. FOR RELATED ARTICLES IN THE SAME BOOK, SEE NCJ 62118-62123, 62125, AND 62126. (CFW)