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Spring Semester 2008
Introduction
The purpose of this project is for you to apply concepts of organizational theory to the study of an actual agency that conducts work relevant to criminal justice. This is a semester-long group project that will require you to take material from readings and class discussion and demonstrate its utility in the “real world” of organizational behavior. As such, this project serves as the capstone assignment in this course. Rather than viewing this as “just another assignment,” I hope you will use this as an opportunity to demonstrate your creative and critical thinking skills as a criminal justice professional.
Advice
One of the most important pieces of advice I can give follows: Read this document, in its entirety , before you begin work on the project. Make sure you understand the requirements. Make sure you understand the process. If you have any questions, ask them. It is important that you have a clear understanding of the assignment before you begin working on it!
Before going any further, please remember that all written work must conform to APA guidelines. In addition, you should be familiar with (and follow) the requirements presented in the handout, “Guidelines for Paper Writing.” All presentations must follow the standards outlined in “Guidelines for Class Presentations.” Please refer to these handouts carefully and frequently – they are available on my homepage.
Also, don’t panic – this is a learning process that will take some hard work, but I have confidence that you can be successful. And I’m here to help. Keys to success include efficient planning, effective groupwork, and budgeting time appropriately. You should plan to work on the project every week – do not assume that you can do this at the last minute!
Groups
In this exercise, you will work in groups. I have structured the project as a group activity for several reasons. First, it is realistic. In criminal justice workplaces, many projects are completed collaboratively, or require supervision or review by others at the very least. Second, it will make the workload more manageable. As you will see, this project requires a considerable amount of effort. However, if you divide the tasks equitably and budget your time wisely, it will be very do-able within the required time frame. Third, working with others will provide an intermediate stage of review. It is always useful to have several pairs of eyes looking over drafts before they are submitted for evaluation.
So, as you do this project, I strongly advise you to circulate drafts of what you write and effectively delegate responsibilities among your group members – don’t just farm everything out and assume you can put all the separate pieces together without several people reviewing them for thematic and stylistic consistency and coherence.
Spring 2008, Page 2 of 10
I will allow you to select your own groups. However, you must convincingly justify why each group member will be a strong contributor to your group effort. You would be wise to assemble a “balanced” group, for instance: one strong “idea person,” one strong writer, one strong researcher, one strong communicator, one strong leader, etc. Each group should have between three and five members. After you have formed your groups, you will prepare a group contract (details are below).
While groups pose certain advantages, there are down sides as well. One of these is the “free-rider” problem. Some people think they can tag along at the group meetings, doing only a minimal amount of work, and slide by. A second, and related, problem is that of absentee group members. Some people may drop the course, others may slack off, and others still may vanish for puzzling and mysterious reasons. It is important that you plan for these contingencies. (Although it would be my expectation that these problems will not occur in an upper-level class!)
To minimize the problem of absentee members, I’ll give some advice. Make sure that each task is assigned to at least two group members. That way, if one person disappears, you’ll still have someone who knows what’s going on. Also, if you plan to drop the class, do the courteous thing – tell your group that you’re leaving and give them the materials that you’ve worked on. Be advised – I will not accept “a group member left” as an excuse for the quality of your final product.
The Assignment
Your assignment is to conduct an agency analysis. Approach this assignment as though your group is a consulting firm that works with criminal justice agencies. There are several “stages” that this research project should entail. In each, it is imperative that you move beyond description (although description is an essential part of this assignment) to analysis, exploring connections between the literature and agency policy and/or practice , and being vigilant for areas in which you can recommend improvement or change in agency policy and/or practice. In addition, it is imperative that you ground your analysis in academic literature (that can include anything assigned for class reading or presentation, anything from an academic journal article, anything from professional literature, etc.).^1 Always remember: I am looking for how well you can apply the ideas we read about and discussed in class to the study of the agency you have selected.
Here are the stages that the research project should entail:
- Select an agency. This is the crucial first step. There are two primary requirements here. First, the agency must be involved in criminal justice, in some capacity. It need not be a police, court, or correctional agency, but in some way, there must be a criminal justice interest. If you want to look at a sub-unit (i.e., department or division) of a larger agency, that is permissible, as well. Second, you must have access to information about the agency. This will likely come in the form of public documents (do not use private or internal documents unless you have permission to do so), web pages, interviews (for which you must have the interviewee’s permission – and interviews may be reported anonymously, if the interviewee so requests), newspaper articles, or other forms of information that are in the public domain or that you otherwise have permission to use. If you are using your workplace, it would be wise for you to secure the permission of your supervisor. For
(^1) Your research can include material from public administration literature, generally, for which JSTOR is an excellent resource; or material from criminal justice management, for which Criminal Justice Abstracts is a good starting point. Both are available from the McConnell Library webpage, under “Find Articles and More.”
Spring 2008, Page 4 of 10
What You’ll Turn In
No later than the due date listed in this document, (under “Process,” below), you should submit a professionally bound report containing your project. The following elements must be included, each beginning on a new page, in the following order. Within each of the following sections, I encourage you to use subheadings to clarify the structure and flow of the document. You may also consider using tabs in the final document to divide the major sections. Some of the sections are self-explanatory; where they are not, I will add clarifications.
- Cover page
- List of all group members
- Table of contents
- Introduction (Briefly explain what you did, why it’s important, your general findings, etc.)
- Background (This corresponds to stage #2, “Provide background.”)
- Analysis (This corresponds to stage #3, “Provide an interesting analysis.”)
- Recommendations (This corresponds to stage #4, “Your recommendations.”)
- Conclusion
- References
- Attachments (Do not include figures, diagrams, forms, charts, graphs, illustrations, or any other non-text materials in the body of the paper. Instead, make reference to them in the body of the paper (i.e., “See Figure 2”) and include them here.)
- Group member responses (These provide each group member with an opportunity to reflect on the project. Each group member’s response should be approximately one page in length. Please do not comment on the nature of the project itself, or on the workings of your group. What I’m looking for is your critical analysis and reflection on the substantive content of what your group accomplished.)
- Copy of group contract (reflecting any updates you made over the course of the semester)
- Resumes of all group members (ensure that they meet standard resume style guidelines)
- Copies of all meeting minutes, in chronological order
- Copies of interim reports and any critiques you received about them, and a brief response to each critique (indicating how you responded to it, or why you didn’t respond to it, or providing an answer if a question was raised, etc.)
Proofreading
Proofread your paper before turning it in. Then proofread it again. Then proofread it again. I can’t stress strongly enough how important this is; any grammatical and/or spelling errors are unprofessional and convey a lack of care for the project, and will result in the rapid deduction of points. I encourage you to take advantage of the writing center at the LARC, on the Radford University campus (in lieu of going to campus, you may also submit your paper electronically for critiquing; select the OWL option from the webpage: http://larc.asp.radford.edu/writing_papers__essays.htm). Also, you might want to have a non- criminal justice major read and comment on your paper – that will let someone “distanced” from the project and subject matter provide comments that may help you clarify your points.
Spring 2008, Page 5 of 10
Formatting
Everything that you write must be well-documented. Only “common knowledge” or your own insights and observations are exempt from citation. Any information that you’ve learned from another source requires citation. If you have questions about what requires citation, see me.
I expect you to use APA style for all citations and references. Make sure your project corresponds to APA guidelines for citation. Don’t assume that you “know” APA – take a look at the APA Publication Manual , library handouts, and/or my paper writing guidelines and then check to see that your paper follows those standards. When in doubt, the absolute authoritative source for answering APA questions is the APA Publication Manual ; a copy is available in McConnell Library (and most other academic libraries). Also, feel free to ask me APA questions.
Also, all groups must use the same formatting (i.e., font, margin size, double-spaced or single-spaced, cover page, binding, etc.) for their reports. I will also expect each group to use the same format for minutes and any other documents to be turned in with the final report. I will allow you, as a class, to select your own formatting standards. Please collaborate early in the process to set standards for formatting.
Class E-Mail Alias
To facilitate planning between groups, you may find it useful to take advantage of the class e-mail alias provided by the university. These addresses will send a message to all students in the class. Be advised, I am copied on all e-mails sent to these addresses.
Alias: ru-crju375-01-spring@radford.edu
Scheduling
You will complete this project over the course of the entire semester. That means that you will be working on this project while also completing the other requirements for this course, as listed in the syllabus.
This is a time-intensive project. You will have to work on a fairly strict schedule to get everything done. Here’s what I recommend. At one of your first group meetings, make a list of everything that has to be done – this includes the pieces of the project that are due throughout the semester as well as the process of putting together the pieces of the final written report itself.
Divide the labor! Assign two (at least) people to each task. Establish rough deadlines. If you plan now, you’ll be in a better position than realizing the night before the paper is due that you have not put together a proper literature review and discussion section, for instance. Plan ahead and plan a weekly meeting time!
Group Meetings
You should take minutes of every group meeting. These minutes should include the following (again, ensure that the format is consistent between all groups):
- Date of meeting
- Time of meeting (beginning/adjournment)
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1. Team Information List all team members. 2. Contact Information You should provide contact information (phone, e-mail, AIM, etc.) for each team member. You may also want to provide the “best” ways/times to reach each group member. 3. Meeting time I would like for you to identify a regular time during which all group members will commit to being available for meetings. I would encourage you all to incorporate this time in your semester schedules. Please note, this will likely not be the only time you will need to meet – but I want each group to have a time that they can come together as a whole to discuss any items of business. 4. Rights and Responsibilities Think carefully about what you believe each team member’s rights and responsibilities should be. You might think about how conflict will be managed, how decisions will be made, how to meet deadlines, etc. And, what do you expect of each other, as fellow team members? Also, you should specify what constitutes “excused” and “unexcused” absences from team meetings or failures to hand in materials. This section is the “heart” of the contract, in that it outlines your expectations of each other. 5. Signatures Each project team member should indicate agreement with the document by signing it. 6. Justifications and Resumes Provide a justification of why each group member was selected for your team. What will each person be able to contribute? Think carefully about this; I reserve the right to reassemble groups that fail to adequately address this.
I would also like for you to attach a current resume of each group member. Between now and the end of the semester, I would like for you to examine your resume and make any modifications that you feel are appropriate (you will turn in a revised version of your resume with the final project, as noted earlier). There are good resume resources on the website of Radford University’s Center for Experiential Learning and Career Development (http://careers.asp.radford.edu/). You may also meet with the career professionals at the Center to discuss, critique, and revise (if necessary) your resume. This is a free service to you as a student – many working professionals pay for the kind of consulting that the Center provides to you for free, so I encourage you to take advantage of it.
Do not turn the group contract in unless it is complete (all sections covered, all signatures included, all resumes present, etc.). If the group contract is late, it will have a strong negative impact on your final project grade.
Spring 2008, Page 8 of 10
Fourth Week of Class
No later than today, your group should submit to me a mini-proposal detailing what you’d like to do. Give me as much information about you idea as you can. While it does not have to be “finalized” by this date, I’d like it be close. I’ll give you my feedback by the next class meeting.
Also, by now, I hope that you have collaborated, across groups, to determine the formats that all written materials will take, as well as expectations regarding number of sources, recommendations, etc. In terms of formatting issues, please let me know what you have decided – and be sure that all written materials from this point on correspond to the agreed-upon standards. For the expectations regarding number of sources and recommendations, let me know what you’ve come up with. I’ll either approve the parameters you have recommended, or send them back for further consideration (I would only send them back if I felt that they were not illustrative of the quality I’d expect from a semester-long, senior-level group project).
Seventh Week of Class
In class, I’d like for you to submit an interim report, summarizing your progress thus far. Specifically, I’m interested in what you’ve accomplished regarding the study of agency background. The report should consist of a narrative no longer than one page (single-spaced) briefly summarizing the content areas that you have explored, and a list of citations for resources that you have utilized thus far. I will return your document with comments no later than the next class period. [Note: If, in my comments, I raise any questions, concerns, or critiques, you must indicate how you addressed them, as noted in #15 on page 4.]
Eleventh Week of Class
In class, I’d like you to submit an interim report, summarizing the progress you’ve made since the last interim report. Specifically, I’m interested in what you’ve accomplished in your analysis. The report should consist of a narrative no longer than one page (single-spaced) briefly summarizing the content areas that you have explored, and a list of citations for resources that you have utilized thus far. I will return your document with comments no later than the next class period. [Note: If, in my comments, I raise any questions, concerns, or critiques, you must indicate how you addressed them, as noted in #15 on page 4.]
Fourteenth Week of Class
In class, I’d like you to submit an interim report, summarizing the progress you’ve made since the last interim report. Specifically, I’m interested in what you’ve accomplished regarding your recommendations. The report should consist of a narrative no longer than one page (single-spaced) briefly summarizing the content areas that you have explored, and a list of citations for resources that you have utilized thus far. I will return your document with comments no later than the next class period. [Note: If, in my comments, I raise any questions, concerns, or critiques, you must indicate how you addressed them, as noted in # on page 4.]
Final Week of Class
Today, you should make a twenty to thirty minute presentation summarizing your project. The presentation will be followed by question-and-answer and discussion.
Spring 2008, Page 10 of 10
discipline, in a generalized, coherent, communal set of attitudes that are collaborative and intellectual. It does not apply unanimity of opinion; it implies commonality of assumption.” 3
Equitable Workload: Did this individual do his/her fair share of work on the project? Was he/she willing to step up and take on tasks as necessary?
Satisfactorily Complete: Did this individual actually do what he/she agreed to? Was the work that was completed satisfactory (proper content, style, form, etc.)?
Regardless of how you answer the question, it is imperative that you justify your answer. Accordingly, I will ask you to accompany your answer with a brief, but descriptive, narrative.
(3) I will carefully review the group evaluations. If a majority of group members (but see footnote 2 on the previous page) answer the question about you in the negative, supported by an acceptable description of why, then I will lower your grade on the final project. Generally, I would lower the grade by one step (example: if the overall group grade was “High Pass,” I would lower your individual grade to “Pass”), but in extreme circumstances, it’s possible that your grade could be lowered by multiple steps due to unsatisfactory performance. Of course, I hope that this is unnecessary.
Having said this, let me make another point clear: I am not going to get involved in the operations of your group. If you have personal differences, work them out and be professional about it. If someone doesn’t pull their weight, give them a low evaluation at the end of the semester. Simply stated, I do not want to hear complaints about your group until I read the evaluation forms at the end of the semester.
Quality
This is a semester-long project in an upper-level class. I am expecting a very high level of work. I realize that one semester is not a lot of time, but it should be sufficient to prepare the project outlined above, especially if you follow the given time schedule.
Finally, quality: What does it take to get an “High Pass” on this project? The short answer is, “excellence.” If you need a benchmark, perhaps this will help. If your final product is to receive a “High Pass”, it must be of sufficient quality that I would not hesitate to have a judge or senior-level criminal justice administrator read it. This means that it must be proofread with no substantial errors, near flawless in APA citations, stylistically sound, well-argued with detail and creativity, self-explanatory without any glaring gaps that would raise questions, a clear demonstration that you’re a careful, analytical, and critically thinking observer of criminal justice, etc. The bar is high, going “above and beyond;” I challenge you to meet it!
Questions
If you have questions, it is better to check with me sooner rather than later. I am happy to answer questions and help you as you prepare this project. This is a learning exercise, and I am here to help.
(^3) Giamatti, A. B. (1988). A free and ordered space: The real world of the university. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, p. 39.
