There are four main models of employee supervision in criminal justice. One model is called the traditional model of employee supervision while the other one is called human service model of employee supervision. The third model of leadership is called the unit management model while the fourth one is called correctional employee supervision. The difference can be seen in the way the leaders evaluate the employees and how the supervision is carried out. The traditional model consists of rules and regulations that must be followed in a strict manner. Most leaders in criminal justice organization who use the traditional method usually emphasize on organizational control of the employees. The following paper describes models of supervision and their application in a correctional facility. For the model to be changed from traditional to the other models of supervision there needs to be changes in the job design and employee supervision ways.
Human Service supervision Model
The human service model insists on the importance of employees and organizational goals with less emphasis on centralization. This model consists of fewer rules than the ones contained in the traditional model. Human service supervision model tries to link employee goals and the organizational goals so as to come up with the best way of performing supervision and evaluation. This enables workers to feel quite in touch with their leaders which make them get high morale for their jobs (Stojkovic 100). Every worker would want to feel that his needs are in check and this model ensures that the employee feels comfortable working in an n organization. When an employee feels comfortable in an organization, his joy is translated in to better working environment and effective job satisfaction. Also, the human model consists of less bureaucracy in the various work processes and the rules are more clearly defined.
The unit management model
This model of leadership and supervision has been applied in prisons by the federal bureau of Prisons ever since the year 1960. It is preferred because it emphasizes on a few permanently jailed inmates in the correctional facility. The small number eases the work of supervision since a small number is easier to manage and lead. The unit management model can be said to contain multidisciplinary staff members who offer comprehensive leadership due to their diverse disciplines. This ensures that there is a pool of several talents and thoughts from different people. The model consists of a unit manager who usually possesses administrative power over the people. The unit manager also has supervisory responsibility for the workers since he is their leader. The leaders usually strive to assign inmates according to their compatibility so as to have ease in management. The shifts are arranged in such a way that the employees of the correctional facility work in rotations.
Correctional employee Supervision by Wright
This model of correctional facility supervision was devised by Wright whose goal is to emphasize on developing people while at the same time ensuring that organizational goals are met. This model can be used to increase cohesion among the employees working in a correctional facility. Employee ownership is usually emphasized in order to increase the voice during development of various policies in the institution. This model encourages the employees to voice their thoughts in any decision making process which in turn reduces the mental stress that occurs in traditional model of supervision (Philips 32). This is because this model ensures correctional managers make the workers feel that they own their jobs and they are capable of running their duties in a committed manner. The model rotates around employee ownership, delegation and power sharing in a correctional facility.
Formal and Informal Socialization
The employees should be encouraged to socialize both formally and informally. Leaders can demonstrate this by taking a walk through the correctional facility with an aim of introducing any new staff. This will help in building cohesion among the leaders, old employees and the new employees (Mays 420). During the first day, a new employee should be allowed to get the necessary orientation that may help in making him wanted for the rest of his working years in the correctional facility. Employees should be given the overview of the history of that organization and their goals as a whole. A correctional facility may consist of many units and departments, and this is where the leaders should ensure that employees socialize with one another. This increases cohesion between departments and also helps employees to socialize at individual levels.
Employees should be given a daily schedule that articulates various activities that they should participate in at a particular time. There should be a leaders assigned to lead the activities and ensure that they go on well. The employees should also be given an opportunity to ask any queries that they may be wondering about. Leaders should be attentive to these questions because they usually focus on employee’s goals and this may help the organization to get a focus of what the employee goals should be (Stojkovic 138). These activities ensure that the employee feels good to be in the correctional facility and it forms the basis of his perception of the organization’s administration.
Possible Changes in job design
For the leadership to be effective, supervision needs to be done regularly. The leaders should do their supervisory roles many times and in a consistent manner. This should include meetings so as to review any pending issues and other important information. During these meetings and sessions, the leaders should be able to know whether employee development is achieved in their daily deliberations of their duties (Philips 39). During these sessions, the supervisors should review the areas of weaknesses for the employees and those that the employees are doing as expected. The employees facing more problems in their jobs should be given more time since it is a leader’s responsibility to ensure employee development is achieved. Also, self- assessment for the employees is necessary so as to know how each employee feels about their job. A supervisor should focus on listening to the employees and allow them to air out their issues without fear of victimization. Thus, a holistic approach should be used in the correctional facility to ensure employee and organizational goals are met.
Conclusion
Apart from the historical model of supervision, it is clear that the other three models of supervision can also be used in a correctional facility. The models can be applied so as to ensure that emphasis can be on employee and organizational goals. In these models, the employees feel comfortable in their duties and their morale is increased. To implement these models, the correctional facility should review and change some of its job description and socialization methods.
Regards
Works Cited
Mays, G., Winfree, L. Essential of Corrections. (4th Ed.) Belmont: Cengage Learning, 2009. : 402- 467
Philips, R., McConnell, C. The effective corrections manager: correctional supervision for the future. (2nd Ed.). Boston: Jones and Barlett Publishers, 2005. : 25- 78
Stojkovic, S., Kalinich, D., Klofas, J. Criminal justice organizations: administration and management. (5th Ed). Belmont: Cengage Learning Wadsworth, 2012. : 96- 147
