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CHAPTER 13
Institutional Management
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
2. Discuss the importance of prison governance.
4. Analyze the negative consequences of boundary violations and job stress among prison
staff.
LESSON PLAN
Correlated to PowerPoints
I. Introduction
Learning Objective 1: Identify the principles used to organize the functioning of prisons.
A. The prison differs from almost every other institution or organization in modern
society.
1. It is the only place where a group of employees manage a group of captives.
3. Prison managers
a. Cannot select their clients
b. Have little or no control over the release of their clients
c. Must deal with clients who are there against their will
d. Must rely on clients to do most of the work in the daily operation of the
institution—work they are forced to do and for which they are not paid
e. Must depend on the maintenance of satisfactory relationships between
clients and staff
Media Tool
Visit http://www.aca.org
o American Correctional Association (ACA)
o Discuss this organization in class. What do the students think the ACA is best at doing?
Is this a necessary organization? Why or why not?
II. Formal Organization
1. A formal organization is deliberately established for particular ends.
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Instructor’s Manual
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a. People set up an organization to help coordinate activities to meet
objectives that require collective effort. They also provide incentives for
others to join.
b. Organizations have clearly established goals, rules, and roles that define
the relations among the organization’s members (the organizational chart).
2. Compliance is the way someone behaves in accordance with an order or
directive given by another person.
a. In compliance relationships, people do what others ask because those
“others” have the means—remunerative, normative, or coercive—to get
subjects to comply.
C. Broadly, imprisonment serves to fairly and justly punish convicted individuals through
periods of confinement that are commensurate with the seriousness of the offense.
Therefore, most prisons have the following mission when dealing with residents:
1. Keep them in: Facilities must be secure.
3. Keep them in line: Prison administrators must be able to enforce rules.
5. Keep them busy: Constructive activities are antidotes to idleness.
Class Discussion/Activity
Have students create a list of ways in which they could keep incarcerated individuals busy within
the prison system, keeping in mind that the individuals are not incarcerated for amenities.
Remind them of the safety and security of a prison when completing this assignment and discuss
in class.
Chapter 13: Institutional Management
Media Tool
Visit http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/hard-time/videos/twiggy/
o National Geographic Hard Time
o Discuss this video in class. What is Twiggy going through in prison? Why do the students
feel a prisoner like Twiggy might be a chosen subject for a series like “Hard Times”?
D. The Organizational Structure
1. Concepts of Organization
a. The formal administrative structure of a prison is a hierarchy of staff
positions.
b. The staff positions have their own duties and responsibilities.
c. Each position is linked to the others in a logical chain of command.
d. The warden is ultimately responsible for the operation of the institution
(Figure 13.1).
e. Three concepts explain the functioning of hierarchically structured
institutions.
f. Two concepts clarify the organization of correctional institutions:
i. Line personnel
1. They are directly concerned with furthering the institution’s
goals.
1. They support line personnel.
g. The organization of prison personnel is generally as follows:
i. The custodial employees make up a majority of an institution’s
personnel.
1. Normally, they are organized along military lines.
2. They are separate from professional staff and have little in
common with them.
ii. All employees answer to the warden, but treatment personnel and
civilian supervisors of workshops have their own titles and salary
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© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or
in part.
iii. Multiple goals and separate employee lines of command often
cause ambiguity and conflict in the administration of prisons.
iv. Conflicts between different groups of personnel (custodial versus
treatment staff) and between staff and residents present significant
challenges to prison administrators.
2. The Warden
a. The warden is the chief executive of the institution.
b. The attitude a warden brings to the job has a huge effect on the
What If Scenario
What if you are able to select the next warden? What qualities would you look for?
3. Management
4. Custodial Personnel
5. Program Personnel
a. The modern correctional institution is concerned not only with
6. Industry and Agriculture Personnel
E. The Impact of the Structure
1. The organizational structure of correctional institutions has changed over time;
today, they are more humanely administered than in the past. This is in part a
response to:
Chapter 13: Institutional Management
b. The focused training and increased professionalism of correctional
personnel
Class Discussion/Activity
After discussing the various types of jobs within the prison system, ask students to select one job
that they feel is not needed in a prison. Ask them to discuss why they selected this position and
why they feel that any prison would run fine without it.
II. Governing Prisons
Learning Objective 2: Discuss the importance of prison governance.
A. Most scholars accept an inmate balance theory to explain the maintenance of order
and prevention of collective violence.
1. For the prison system to operate effectively, officials must tolerate minor
infractions, relax security measures, and allow prison resident leaders to keep
order.
B. Administrative control theory contrasts with the inmate balance theory. This posits
that disorder results from “unstable, divided, or otherwise weak management.”
2. Officials become indifferent to routine security measures and day-to-day tasks
of prison management.
3. Weak management permits gangs and other illicit groups to flourish.
C. The Defects of Total Power
1. Sykes emphasizes that although in formal terms correctional officials have the
2. Much of the public believes that prisons are run in an authoritarian manner.
4. According to Sykes, “The ability of the officials to physically coerce their
captives into the paths of compliance is something of an illusion as far as the day-
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© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or
in part.
to-day activities of the prison are concerned and may be of doubtful value in
moments of crisis.”
5. A study of a Texas prison found that a small but significant percentage of
officers used physical punishment.
D. Rewards and Punishments
1. Correctional officers often rely on rewards and punishments to gain
cooperation or to reward informers or residents who do not break rules. Rewards
include the following:
a. Offers of choice job assignments
b. Residence in the honor unit
E. Gaining Cooperation: Exchange Relationships
1. Officers often discover the best course of action is to make “deals” or “trades”
with residents.
3. Officers must be careful not to get into situations where they may be
blackmailed into doing illegitimate favors in return for cooperation.
4. Officers are expected to maintain “surface order.” They must make sure that
individuals conform voluntarily, things run smoothly, and there are no visible
signs of trouble. This leads to three realties:
a. Negotiations are central to prison control. Correctional officers cannot
have total control over the prison population.
Class Discussion/Activity
Show the clip “Cell Phone Shakedown” from National Geographic’s series Hard Time.
(Available: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/hard-time/videos/cell-phone-shakedown/)
Watch a team of corrections officers search an area they believed had cell phones and drugs.
They find a few items but not what they were looking for. One officer talks about having to
“think like an inmate.” In the end, the officers feel defeated. Why? What impact does this feeling
have on inmates?
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F. Informal Leadership
1. The institution generally gives individual hierarchy covert support and
2. Some observers contend that when wardens maintain order in this way, they
enhance the positions of some individuals at the expense of others.
G. Discipline in Prison
1. Today, withholding privileges, erasing good time, and placing incarcerated
3. Individuals are warned that rule infractions may also violate criminal law and
could be handled by the criminal justice system.
4. The Disciplinary Process
a. Custodial officers act like a cop on the beat with regard to most prison
5. Sanctions
a. Administrative segregation and loss of privileges and good time are the
sanctions most often imposed for violating institution rules.
H. Leadership: The Crucial Element of Governance
2. Prison managers must effect a government strong enough to control a
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Class Discussion/Activity
Show the clip “Worst of the Worst” from National Geographic’s series Hard Time. (Available at
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/hard-time/episodes/worst-of-the-worst/). Discuss ways to
control inmate behavior.
What If Scenario
What if you could select a rewards program or incentive for prison residents who have been on
good behavior? What would you reward them with and why?
III. Correctional Officers: The Linchpin of Management
Learning Objective 3: Discuss the different job assignments that correctional officers are given.
A. Who Becomes a Correctional Officer?
1. Studies have shown that a primary incentive for becoming a correctional officer
is the security of a civil service job.
3. The correctional officer is a crucial professional, has the closest contact with
incarcerated individuals, and is expected to perform a variety of tasks.
4. Females in corrections face issues of discrimination. In some states, courts have
5. Research shows a variation in the perception of women officers by residents,
with maximum-security individuals having higher opinions of the competency of
6. Correctional recruits receive training in many topics, including report writing,
resident manipulation, self-defense, and more. Classroom training is
supplemented with on-the-job training, where new officers are paired with
Class Discussion/Activity
Discuss the pros and cons of becoming a correctional officer. Ask students to state whether this
would be a career they would choose.
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B. Role Characteristics
2. Correctional officers are human service providers who are expected to engage
in “people work” within an organizational setting.
3. Officers are expected to help incarcerated individuals deal with their personal
C. Job Assignments
1. Officers are assigned to one of seven job assignments:
a. Block Officers: Officers in the cell blocks have the closest contact with
the residents and the greatest potential for inducing behavior change in
them.
b. Work Detail Supervisors: Their work area is a more relaxed place than
e. Administration Building Assignments: These officers interact mainly
with institutional administrators, correctional officials from the
commissioner’s office, and civilians.
f. Wall Posts: Officers assigned to the towers or along the walls are almost
D. Problems with Officer’s Role
Learning Objective 4: Understand the negative consequences of boundary violations
and job stress among prison staff.
2. Correctional officer is the key figure in the penal equation.
E. Job Stress and Burnout
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1. As with many correctional occupations, prison officers are expected to serve
conflicting custodial and treatment goals.
3. Officers are asked to do an almost impossible task.
5. There is a high level of job stress and burnout.
Media Tool
Visit http://www.nij.gov/pubs-sum/183474.htm
o Addressing Correctional Officer Stress
o Have students skim this article and discuss in class. Have students think about the factors
that contribute to stress and discuss how the prison environment exacerbates them. What
can correctional officers do to reduce on-the-job stress?
F. Boundary Violations
1. Boundary violations are behaviors that blur, minimize, or disrupt the social
distance between prison staff and residents.
2. Three types of violations: general, dual relationships, and staff–resident sexual
contact.
G. Use of Force
1. There are five situations where it’s legally acceptable for officers to use force.
a. Self-defense
H. Collective Bargaining
2. Relationships between employees and administrators are now more formalized.
What If Scenario
What if you’re in charge of creating a plan for officers to be prepared in case of a critical
incident? How do you prepare the troops? What activities do you want to do?
What If Scenario
What if one of your fellow officers seems too stressed? What help would be available?
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LECTURE NOTES
When teaching about prison management, review the characteristics of formal organizations.
This chapter introduces Amitai Etzioni’s concept of compliance. Students should be familiar
with its premise and the various types of power Etzioni identifies. Have students identify other
places where they may find these types of power operating. The chapter describes the
organizational structure of the prison. It is important for students to understand the hierarchy of
prison administration and how this structure may inhibit or enhance effective management.
The authors emphasize just how little focus there has been on prison management. Draw the
distinction between prisons as institutions to be governed and prisons as social systems. In order
to get students to focus on management issues, start a conversation about what distinguishes a
well-run prison from a substandard one. This topic can stimulate exciting discussion. Have
This chapter emphasizes some critical realities about governing a prison. In particular, the
authors explore the defects of total power. Therefore, you may want to review this concept with
the class. The chapter emphasizes that maintaining order is a burden. Ask students to list features
of a prison that would make it unique to manage.
One of the most important parts of this chapter is the content exploring the role correctional
officers play in the management of prisons. Students must be made aware of who becomes a
corrections officer, the characteristics associated with this role, the various job assignments
correctional officers must carry out, and the problems with the officer’s role. The introduction of
It is important to review the distinct challenges, restrictions, and consequences of doing the job;
these include stress and burnout, boundary violations, and the use of force. It may be
Instructor’s Manual
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© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or
in part.
constructive to review the characteristics of civil service work. The power of corrections officers
unions is growing, and they are becoming big contributors to political campaigns. It is important
for students to explore how that might affect corrections and the penal landscape.
KEY TERMS
Formal organization
A structure established for influencing behavior to achieve particular ends.
Compliance
Obedience to an order or request.
Remunerative power
The ability to obtain compliance in exchange for material resources.
Normative power
The ability to obtain compliance by manipulating symbolic rewards.
Coercive power
The ability to obtain compliance by the application or threat of physical force.
Unity of command
A management principle holding that a subordinate should report to only one supervisor.
Chain of command
A series of organizational positions in order of authority, with each person receiving orders from
the one immediately above and issuing orders to the one(s) immediately below.
Span of control
A management principle holding that a supervisor can effectively oversee only a limited number
of subordinates.
Line personnel
Employees who are directly concerned with furthering the institution’s goals and who are in
direct contact with clients.
Staff personnel
Employees who provide services in support of line personnel; examples of staff personnel
include training officers and accountants.
Inmate balance theory
A governance theory that posits that for a prison system to operate effectively, officials must
tolerate minor infractions, relax security measures, and allow inmate leaders to keep order.
Chapter 13: Institutional Management
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Have students identify which job assignment they would want to avoid and which they
2. Direct students to the organizational chart of Pennsylvania’s Chester County Prison at
3. Have students look up what jobs are currently available with the Federal Bureau of
4. Have students research their current state’s department of corrections. In doing so, ask
5. Discuss with students the case of Tenika Romero, who allegedly helped two prisoners
escape from Parchman prison in 2017. Then, direct students to the following article about
boundary violations: http://www.corrections.com/news/article/46186. Ask students to
Instructor’s Manual
ANSWERS TO END-OF-CHAPTER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Although the answers provided below will vary from student to student, the responses should
include at a minimum a discussion of the following key points.
1. How have U.S. prisons changed since the big-house era? What do these changes mean for
management?
2. As the superintendent of a prison, what sort of management problems do you face? Which
people can help you solve them?
3. How is the idea of total power in the institutional setting defective?
4. As a correctional officer assigned to manage a 40-man housing unit in a maximum-security
prison, what problems might you face? How would you handle them?
5. Would you like to be a correctional officer? What aspects of the job make it attractive? What
aspects make it unattractive?