Читать книгу Police in America - Steven G. Brandl - Страница 85

This principle holds that no one person or office is responsible for all of the work of an organization. Instead, labor is divided among personnel and offices so that the jobs employees are responsible for are specialized. Specialization is designed to allow for the development of expertise and efficiency. Many police departments divide the work of the agency among many units or divisions, such as patrol, criminal investigation, and administration, among others. Patrol may be divided among several districts and shifts. The task of criminal investigation may be divided into the investigation of homicides, property crimes, sensitive crimes, and so forth.

The amount of specialization in the division of labor of a department is largely a function of the size of the organization, as is the number of levels in the organizational hierarchy. A primary disadvantage of specialization is that with more units and divisions, effective control and coordination of the units becomes more challenging. With more divisions there is also the increased likelihood of conflict among them.

specialization: A focus on certain responsibilities in order to develop expertise and efficiency in those tasks.