Discuss problems related to the socialization process

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• One major problem is role conflict, which is defined as the occurrence of two or more role expectations such that compliance with one makes compliance with another difficult or impossible. Conflicting expectations may come from one or more role senders.
• Lipsky calls competing goals a defining characteristic of all street-level bureaucracies, particularly in criminal justice where, for example, police officers are charged with controlling crime while meeting due process constraints. Probation and parole officers must surveil their clients to prevent crimes and assure rule compliance, while also providing support and services.
• Role ambiguity is defined as uncertainty about what the occupant of a particular office is supposed to do—that is, the sent message is unclear. May often be manifested as a lack of clear performance criteria, and is a common complaint among police and corrections staff and a major source of job-related stress. In Sykes' classic work The Society of Captives, he points out that the goals of punishment and rehabilitation provide little direction for correctional workers.
• Official deviance, as defined by Lee and Visano as "actions taken by officials that violate the law and/or the formal rules of the organization but which are clearly oriented toward the needs and goals of the organization, as perceived by the official, and thus fulfill certain informal rules of the organization.". Official deviance does not benefit the individual as corruption may but is aimed at furthering the perceived goals of the organization.