Fix It Mr. Caputo Is an Administrator at a Women's Prison. Lately

question 14

Essay

Fix It
Mr. Caputo is an administrator at a women's prison. Lately there have been a lot of physical altercations between inmates. The traditional form of punishment for fighting is being put into the solitary housing unit for 7 days, but since this doesn't seem to be working Mr. Caputo decides to explore alternative punitive methods. He decides to conduct a study that he hopes will solve the fighting problem at the prison. He also hopes to present the results at a regional prison administrator convention. To that end, he divides the 1,500 inmates into groups of 150. Each group is required to attend a focus group. To ensure that everyone participates, Mr. Caputo withholds access to the commissary until they complete the study. During the focus group a moderator asks questions such as "What kinds of things cause fights in prison?" and "How do you think fighting can be prevented?" Dr. Caputo also administers surveys to inmates to examine their aggressive tendencies and how fearful they are of prison life. At the end of the study Mr. Caputo discovers that the fights seem to be initiated by the inmates who work in the cafeteria, and fights seem to occur just after fresh produce is delivered to the prison. Based on these results Mr. Caputo decides to replace the kitchen staff and replace fresh produce with frozen fruits and vegetables. He uses this data to convince his colleagues at other prisons to do the same. What kind of research is Mr. Caputo conducting? What problems do you see with this study? Fix it!

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Definitions:

Environmental Factors

Elements or conditions in the surrounding environment that impact the functioning and behavior of individuals, organizations, or systems.

Aligning People

The process of ensuring that everyone in an organization understands its goals and strategies and works in harmony to achieve them.

Henri Fayol

A French engineer and management theorist known for developing one of the earliest theories of management.

Organizing

The act of arranging or structuring elements in a systematic way to achieve objectives and maintain order.