Module/Week 1 — Rational Decision Making in Public Administration

/in /by

 

Discussion Board Forum 1

Topic: Rational Decision Making

Thread: After carefully reading Exercise 1 and “The Art of Muddling Through,” explain which alternative you would support to address the issues raised in the Preliminary Problem Analysis for East Wallingford. Be sure to fully explain why this alternative represents the most rational decision.

 

Discussion Board Forums

Attached Files:

For each forum, you are required to post 1 thread of 400–500 words and 2 replies of 250–300 words. For each thread, you must support your assertions with at least 2 citations in current APA format. Each reply must incorporate at least 1 citation in current APA format. Acceptable sources include scholarly articles, public administration trade publications, statistical research, the textbook, and the Bible.

Responding to a classmate’s thread requires both the addition of new ideas and analysis. A particular point made by the classmate must be addressed and built upon by your analysis in order to move the conversation forward. Thus, the reply is a rigorous assignment that requires you to build upon the thread to develop deeper and more thorough discussion of the ideas introduced. As such, replies that merely affirm, restate or unprofessionally quarrel with the previous thread(s) and fail to make a valuable, substantive contribution to the discussion will receive appropriate point deductions.

RESPONSE TO TERRENCE

/in /by

 Socialization

     Leadership is motivating your subordinates to accomplish the goals and the mission of a department.  In order to accomplish this, leaders need to develop trust and a connection with their subordinates.  Getting to know your subordinates is important in that you are aware of their goals.  Are they on the job to provide for their families?  Are they looking to enhance their careers by joining a certain unit?   Are they just doing it because they are lost, and this job looked like something interesting to do while they figure themselves out?  Whatever their goals are, it should be important that their leader knows what those goals are. Another reason that it is a good policy to get to know your subordinates is to know if there is going to be any issues that may arise and to see if you can head that off.  If you go out with your guys/ gals and notice that one of them is hitting the bottle a bit harder than the, then you may have someone with a substance abuse problem.  If one of them is trying to start fights in the bar, then they may have an issue with violence that could translate to a problem on the job.

   You don’t want to get too friendly with your subordinates.  You don’t want to jeopardize the leader subordinate relationship and jeopardize your authority.  It’s hard to put the hammer down on someone that you just did a round of tequila shots with the night before.  There is a line that leaders can tow that keeps them as the boss, but not so far out of reach that subordinates feel as if they can’t talk to you.  It’s the old like that I learned when I became a leader.  Don’t take my kindness for weakness.   

   Finally, this is an important part of being a supervisor.  If you show that you care and that you can help them achieve those goals, then they will care about the work they give you.  They will put in an effort for someone who put time into them.  If there is a problem outside of work, they can head it off before it interferes with work. They may have access to resources that newer officers or employees may not be aware of yet.  If they see the boss putting some kind of effort into helping them, it can lead to a sense of loyalty.  If the boss really does his job right, that effort they put into their charge will get passed down.  The officer that was looked after, mentored and guided will then do the same for the next generation. 

    What could this mean for the organization?  It means more productivity for their officers.  Officers who feel as if they are not out there alone with their issues and that some one cares will be more focused on the job.  Officers who may be heading down the wrong path can be saved.  This can alleviate any embarrassment to the department plus the training costs to train a replacement for a fired employee.  This does not always work, however it is better than doing nothing. 

NEED IN 4 HOURS PLEASE

/in /by

Separation of powers is one of the most important principles in American government. Why is it important to have a neutral and nonbiased Supreme Court? 

Is it possible to have such a thing as a neutral and unbiased court? Explain your position.

Do we currently have such a Supreme Court? If we do offer an example, if not offer an example and explanation of how that is not an unbiased Court?

PLEASE EXPLAIN WHETHER YOU AGREE WITH MY CLASSMATE RESPONSE TO THE ABOVE QUESTION AND WHY? (A MININUM OF 125 WORDS) 

                                                                CLASSMATE’S POST

It is important to have a neutral and no bias Supreme Court, because of the chain of command. The Supreme Court is the last resort for fair decision in an appeal, if the judges are biased it’s no point in even moving forward or fighting for your rights of your rights being violated. The Supreme Court is for unconstitutional issue how can an appeal move forward if they are not biased. There are nine judges on the panel that would even it out if there in fact are some their vote may not count. 

I do believe there are bias courts. Reason for that is because, the constitution is interpreted differently. It is true that some are not bias but because of interpretation again it could be viewed as being bias and it actually is not. The courts have provided they are bias in so many different cases that with the evolution of technology, we can now see the bias courts from arrest to court system. From the political eye, if majority judges are of the same political party there would seem to be a bias from the opposing party of judges due to their views being different.

response for Mounika Iska

/in /by

4. Were Al Zink’s actions that of someone trying to be an invisible sponsor?

     Al Zink actions make it obvious that he is trying to be an invisible sponsor, though they are many reasons for him to take that end. Al Zink not responding to Fred’s requests in the fear of decision making and attempts for not initiating the project plan and schedules clearly depicts his interest towards invisible sponsor. Considering his experience, these actions might not be intentional but his fear of losing the reputation made him an invisible sponsor.

5. Did Fred Cutler act appropriately in trying to get Al Zink to act as a sponsor?

     Talking about the situation Fred had gotten in to, Fred’s act was appropriate because he got to escalate things when there is no action done by his co-worker to get the job done. At the same time, Fred never put his efforts to make Al Zink comfortable with his new role. As per the case study Fred has enough knowledge about how to handle this project and where exactly Al Zink came from, also he was told to train Al Zink which he never done instead he made Zink’s fears aggressive by stating Zink’s role as the most crucial part.

6. What is your best guess as to what happened to the working relationship between Al Zink and Fred Cutler?

     As discussed in the previous question, things would have been in a better place if Fred acted well in time. When an employee is given the opportunity of training someone, they should analyze the trainee and make sure they get best out of his expertise and inject the responsibilities in a timely fashion with which he has no experience. In this case, none of the two has the maturity to read the other person and act accordingly instead they both are trying their best to make sure they won’t end up getting a red flag from higher authorities.

Reference: Kezner, H. (2013). A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling,and Controlling. New York: Wiley.

Criminology W2

/in /by

Introduction to Criminology– Week 2 Assignment

NCVS vs. UCR
Currently, criminologists in the United States primarily utilize two methods for collecting crime data; The Uniform Crime Report (UCR) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). These two data sources are heavily relied upon when studying crime rates and trends. The UCR and the NCVS provide different data, and in our textbook, in Chapter 2 there is a plethora of information regarding the UCR and the NCVS and how each is used, their validity, and possible future implications on how crime data is collected.

Scenario:

You are a lieutenant working for The Big Deal Security Company, which has seen exponential growth over the last few years.  The owner of the company is looking to expand the business and would like you to create a proposal by comparing two cities in two different states.  When evaluating the two cities, keep in mind that some of the current employees will relocate, and the boss would like you to develop a proposal on which of the two cities would be a better choice to raise a family.

For your proposal, you will need to use the information from both the UCR and the NCVS.

Directions:

1.    First, choose two different states then pick a city in each of these states that you believe The Big Deal Security Company could open another successful office.

a.    For example Dallas, Texas and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

2.    Second, go to the Uniform Crime Report website https://ucrdatatool.gov/Search/Crime/Local/JurisbyJuris.cfm?NoVariables=Y&CFID=164098445&CFTOKEN=8fcedd547fb325e4-931B6E2B-C17B-6840-57801D6FA0F2A580

3.    Once on the website, select the first state you have chosen in the drop down box then click the Next button

For my example, I selected Dallas.

4.    Now in the drop-down box labeled (a. Choose an agency) find the law enforcement agency in the city you have selected.

a.    For my example, I selected Dallas Police Department; I could have chosen the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department if I was going move business to the county.

5.    Now go to the drop-down box on the right labeled (b. Choose one or more variable groups) – Hold down the shift key and select Number of violent crimes and Number of property crimes and then click on the button labeled – Get Table.

6.    Review the information on the table for the total number of aggravated assaults and the total number of burglaries – write down this information to use later.  Repeat this process for the second city and state you chose.

a.     ***Make sure the “Choose one or more population groups” is on “ALL.”

7.    Once you are done, click on the link below, which will take you to the National Crime Victimization website. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv14.pdf

8.    Now scroll down until you Find Table 4 and write down the number of burglaries and aggravated assaults reported in 2014.

9.    Now you are ready to evaluate the crime rate for burglaries and aggravated assaults in the two cities selected, to help you complete your proposal as to which city would be a more favorable location for the new office.

Instructions for your proposal:

1.    Include these elements in your proposal paper:

2.    A title page – get creative on your title page (background and border), but make sure to include the title of your presentation, your name, and the date

3.    Starting on the second page of your proposal

Part 1:

·         Introduce the two states selected and why the two cities within these states would make a great location to expand The Big Deal Security Company.

Part 2:

·         Demonstrate your understanding of the statistical data collected from the UCR and how it differs from the NCVS (where is the data for each of these databases derived from).

·         Compare the violent crime rate (aggravated assaults) and the property crime rate (burglaries) you collected from both the Uniform Crime Report and the National Victimization Survey on both cities.

Part 3:

·         Describe the possible effects the information in the UCR and the NCVS may have on a community (e.g., business and population growth, schools, and law enforcement).

·         Explain the different demographics of each city you are comparing (e.g., population, resources, and unemployment rate).

·         Clarify why you would or why you would not move the company to each one of the cities you have researched (give specific examples).   

Part 4:

·         State why it is essential for crime data to be available to the public and its usefulness.

Part 5:

·         References

(This page is the very last one in your proposal; it stands alone at the end of your paper, and only contains the references for your document).

A detailed explanation of how to cite a source using APA can be found here.

Download an example

View your assignment rubric

RESPONE TO JAMES

/in /by

 

Official crime data utilized by criminal justice agencies is official crime data which has been collected by means of statistics compiled from reported crime, arrests, and convictions. Some strengths of official crime data is this type of data is easy to access with little cost, it is collected and standardized in a systematic and scientific way, and it allows the user to compare different groups. Some disadvantages of official crime data is that it may not always show the whole picture with regard to a criminal’s socio-economicbackground, cannot record a person’s story, and the data can be one sided regarding who is inputting the data.Though the information is real time, and for the most part accurate not all crime is reported and the data is very generalized, meaning the data does not concentrate on sub-groups (Thornbrerry, 2003).

However, the onset of self-reporting surveys enabled criminal justice professionals to gather data from sub-groups criminal justice professionals were seeking, especially from adolescents. While self-reporting studies gave researchers the ability to target specific groups and gather more specific data, whether those being reported on were truthful about crimes committed and other questions was up for interpretation (Thornberry, 2003). According to Thornberry (2003), “The survey design was sensitive to a number of methodological deficiencies of prior self-report studies and has been greatly instrumental in improving the self-report method. The NYS is also noteworthy because it is a panel design, having followed the original respondents into their thirties” (para. 13). There have been many innovations with self-reporting surveys since the surveys onset. According to Elliot (2017), “Self-report measures are thus an alternative measure of crime that is conceptually a more direct measure of criminal behavior, captures crimes known and unknown to law enforcement, and avoids the selective reporting and processing biases potentially inherent in the more limited official record measures of responses to crime. It has become the mainstay in criminological research, particularly in etiological studies” (para. 1).

Proverbs 18:17 states, “The person who tells one side of a story seems right, until someone else comes and asks questions.” Criminal justice leaders need data that is not biased, or at least data from both sides. Police officers and those inputting information into official crime data bases are human beings, and as such may view things differently from those on the other side of the law. While those individuals on the other side of the law may or could be criminals, a good leader will always listen to decide a the best course of action for the greater good of all.

References

Elliott, D. (2017). Self-Report Crime Surveys. Retrieved from https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195396607/obo-9780195396607-0221.xml

Thornberry, T. P. (2003). Comparison of Self-Report and Official Data for Measuring Crime. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/read/10581/chapter/4

Criminal Law Eric

/in /by

 

In the American criminal justice system, defendants are afforded a presumption of innocence, and this requires prosecutors to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. We have all heard the phrase “innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.” This is entirely true, and even though the burden is placed on proof of guilt, defendants are generally required to prove an affirmative defense. It is essential to know that failure to establish an affirmative defense does not automatically mean the defendant is guilty. The prosecutor still needs to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt regardless of the outcome on an affirmative defense. Self-defense is an example of a justification affirmative defense and is used in many cases such as murder and domestic battery. Claiming self-defense means that you are justifying the force applied on the other party was necessary to protect yourself from an attempted injury.

Another example is known as criminal insanity, and this is known as an excuse affirmative defense. This is where the defendant claims a mental defect or disease that, as understood in most states, makes it impossible for a person to know what he or she is doing or to know that what they are doing is wrong. Depending on the situation, these defensives may relieve the person from their criminal responsibility.

Part II

I believe this exception is unreasonable. My opinion merely comes from the fact that to invoke a duress defense the defendant must typically satisfy three elements. First, they must face “an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury. Second, they must possess “a well-grounded fear that the threat will be carried out. Third, the defendant must enjoy no reasonable opportunity to escape the threatened harm (Shankland, 2009). I believe if the situation meets those three criteria’s, human survival instinct steps in and unfortunately bad things happen sometimes.

respond this to discussion question in 200 words no references in your own words

RESPONSE TO JAMES

/in /by

 

Having been in law enforcement for 15 years on November 1, 2019 I have seen motivation levels go up and down  for a multitude of reasons.  Law enforcement can be one of the hardest professions to maintain a high level of motivation across throughout the sworn and unsworn staff.

The first and most often reason that motivation levels drop is pay. Law enforcement isn’t an employer that will generally pay much more than the living wage. Many police departments are unable to pay even the median reported income average of its residents. In my city the median income level is reported at $68,000 per year. Patrol level officers at my agency make less than half of the median income. What my police chief has done to address this issue is to find extra employment opportunities within our jurisdiction to supplement officer’s incomes. Being a rural city these opportunities are few and far between. We typically see extra work with the local school district at football games and other after school activities. We also work uniformed security at local churches. Recently our chief has gotten the city council to provide raises so that will hopefully raise motivation levels among sworn and unsworn personnel and end our reputation as a training agency. Meaning that officers gain the knowledge skills and abilities and then transfer to larger higher paying agencies. So far this has improved motivation levels and has taken the average officer tenure from 2.5 years to 6.8 years at our agency.

Secondly a cause for motivation decreasing is stagnant leadership. Officers tend to become tired of patrol leadership and problems surface and motivation lacks. One way that my agency has addressed this is that once a quarter subordinate officers meet with the police administration and recommend one supervisor to be awarded. Patrol level officers have taken ownership of this process and take this very serious, as if their voices are being heard. This also provides police administration with field level feedback without threat of recourse from any supervisors. Additionally shift rotations with supervisors and patrol officers happen in the opposite rotation. We don’t keep the same supervisors constantly. The patrol rotation happens upward meaning you move from days to evenings to nights, and supervisors rotate down, from nights to evenings and then days. This happens quarterly and keeps officers with fresh leadership keeping motivation levels much higher.

Another way that My police chief keeps motivation raised is he has found areas that each officer excels and keeps that officer seeking and receiving training to strengthen that focus area. For example, I have shown interest and have performed exemplary in traffic enforcement, narcotic interdiction, and DWI enforcement. I am afforded the opportunity each year to improve my skills in my targeted area. In 2018 I received nearly 250 hours of advanced training to continue to grow and improve in my specialty. Some officers have expressed interest in being training officers and receive specialized training throughout the year to improve and grow as training officers. These are just examples of how each officer’s skills are utilized by our police department not only to better the department but to maintain higher motivation levels and to keep officers employed by our department. Each officer has braced their roles and takes ownership in the fact that they have a specific specialty.        

db5

/in /by

Primary Task Response: Within the Discussion Board area, write 400 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.

Summative Discussion Board

Review and reflect on the knowledge that you have gained from this course. Based on your review and reflection.

  • What were the most compelling topics learned in this course?
  • How did participating in discussions help your understanding of the subject matter? Is anything still unclear that could be clarified?
  • What approaches could have yielded additional valuable information?

The main post should include at least 1 reference to research sources, and all sources should be cited using APA format.

Responses to Other Students: Respond to at least 2 of your fellow classmates with a reply of 100 words about their Primary Task Response regarding items you found to be compelling and enlightening. 

student 1:

I have taken a homeland security class in undergrad and I was not pleased with it at all. The material was very hard to follow as we had to memorize a lot of acronyms. I was dreading this class because I thought It would be the same as before but I was pleasantly surprised when I actually ended this class. I was able to learn the material in a different manner and the class flowed very well. The discussions helped because we later used that same information for our individual projects so that made it easier to understand and complete. The instructor was very thorough and I appreciated the extra material that was provided in reference to writing skills. Overall, I learned not only about terrorism and homeland security, but my writing skills as well. 

student 2:

      What were the most compelling topics learned in this course?

            Most all the topic in this course was compelling because since I started in this course I have learned many different things about how the laws work for different things. For instant learned how the Homeland Security work and how it is broken down into the different departments that is involve to get things done in order to make sure what each department duty is so that nothing fall through the wall because things wasn’t done like they should because the person or persons who work in each department are doing the job that they are getting paid to do.

        How did participating in discussions help your understanding of the subject matter? Is anything still unclear that could be clarified?

         The discussion board was the best thing that the school could have around because will the communication through the discussion board you are able to see and learn from one another about the assignments, so that you are able to see how other students write about the same assignment but in a different way. Another thing is that from the discussion board you are able to learn things that you don’t about because like the old saying is that you aren’t never to old to learn something because will don;t know everything because if we did we wouldn’t have to go to school all because it will be useless. There isn’t anything still until to be clarified because with all of the communication in the classroom and discussion board you are communicate that is the best thing that could happening at this time in school.

       What approaches could have yielded additional valuable information?

        Nothing could be yielded because everything that the the way that we are doing in school now is great and done make any changed because the way things is going in the right direction without any problem or problems because everyone is on the same page  because everyone is communicate the way the such so that we get to know each other.

RESPONSE TO SONYA

/in /by

 

The principles of survey research noted in Chapter 1 of The Mismeasure of Crime textbook explores the reliability, validity, and sources of error in the measurement of social phenomena (Mosher, Miethe, & Hart, 2010). It is vivid that Adriaenssens and Hendrickx (2011) investigate a policy problem that is marred with assumptions and less scholarly evidence. The very nature of the hypotheses used in this study shows that a lot remains to be known and understood about the yield of begging in Brussels. To their credit, the researchers identify many of the influences behind assumptions that people make about beggars. For instance, beggars are criminalized and considered illegitimate occupants because of the rising rate of immigration facing many countries in Europe. I believe that this is a research article that acts as a pointer as to where future research on the subject should focus on. Its main strength is the lack of an established research framework that would help the researchers narrow down their study to have a greater impact. Instead, they choose to pursue a larger scope that is characterized by assumptions. This feature equally affects the reliability of the article.

While I believe that it provides valuable information regarding street-level economic activities, it is not structured in a manner that it can inform policy. My conclusion to this regard therefore, is that I would not base public policy with respect to beggars off this article. My recommendation would be that greater effort must be made through research to improve knowledge about the activities of beggars and organize this information through a research review. The review will provide a well-founded fact-sheet on this subject and probably offer sufficient evidence to promote and inform policy interventions. While I understand the good intent that the researchers have in studying this topic, my suggestion would be that they need to refine their focus to put their effort on constructs that have the greatest impact (Busch-Geertsema, Edgar, O’Sullivan, & Pleace, 2010). As Christians, we must be mindful of our brothers, a viewpoint that is held by these researchers. This will reduce the number of hypotheses and assumptions articulated in the study.