Discuss change planning in criminal justice organizations

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• Planning can be thought of as the systematic application of the concept of planned change. Dahl defined planning as any deliberate effort to increase the proportion of goals attained by increasing awareness and understanding of the factors involved. More simply, planning is a process that precedes decision making, that gives explicit consideration to the future, and that seeks coordination among sets of interrelated decisions or actions.
• The planning process is the first step in developing and implementing planned change. It is a process of ‘‘lining up the ducks'' by identifying the immediate and future needs of an agency and the goals that must be met, then devising a systematic way in which to meet these needs and goals. In short, the tasks of planners are identifying agency goals and problems, forecasting, and generating and testing alternatives.
• In planning and decision making the basic purposes of the agency for rational planning must be reviewed consistently to gain a clear understanding of mission or goals as well as the values implicit in the agency's purpose. Often, the agency mission may be ignored in favor of day-to-day routines or lost in agency folklore about its social role. Hence, frequent reviews of an organization's purpose can remind administrators of the basic mission and goals and facilitate the promulgation of policies and procedures that are congruent with the agency's basic purpose, as well as assist in long-term planning.