Case Study: Officer Robert Barton Officer Barton joined a big city police department six years ago. He was a high school graduate from a middle-class family in a small town. His parents spoke French, English, and Spanish, and he was fluent in all three languages. His first six months in the department (after the academy) was an eye-opener and somewhat of a cultural shock. At first he was lost, and he had some difficulty in adjusting to the lifestyles of a big city. It soon became apparent that the police had bonds of loyalty and secrecy and that there was a general feeling of “us against them.” He found that he was part of a subculture that demanded a high level of esprit de corps and solidarity. It was soon apparent that the officers he worked with viewed themselves as the “thin blue line.” His fellow officers that were in his academy class came from varying backgrounds, and most of them had lived in metropolitan areas all of their lives. They shared diverse values, attitudes, and perspectives. Slowly but surely the officers felt the need to belong and assimilated the new subculture, and in relatively short time, they became comfortable interacting with one another. They became a source of mutual support to each other. Robert Barton, like most of his peers, started out slowly and was somewhat overawed by the total process, but in time he began to think, act, and feel like a cop. He wanted to be a good cop. His goals were to preserve the peace and to protect people and society from criminals. Barton placed a relatively high value on individual rights and due process of law. He really wanted to protect and serve, but with the reality of the street and the social status that he sought, within the group, he quickly accepted the norms and values of his peers and of his field training officers (FTO). Barton was a good candidate for the socialization process and quickly learned the importance of going along with the flow. The taboos were readily apparent such as failure to back up an officer who is in danger and above all exhibit bravery in the face of danger or suffer the consequences and be ostracized by the group. Barton also learned that his immediate sergeant would be the most important in his life while working. This proved to be especially true during the two-year probationary period. After three years in the patrol division, Officer Barton was reassigned. He was placed in a Joint Gang Task Force, which consisted of 26 investigators and 1 supervisor from 6 jurisdictions who formed a tightly knit work group. This was a group that was just organized, and he wanted to become a full-fledged member of the group. It consisted of a homogeneous and cohesive group of bilingual people who identified with each other and shared a unique set of values, attitudes, and beliefs related to their job. Based on continual face-to face interaction among themselves and with gang members, they soon became a viable component in the effort to control gang activities ...

1. Case Study: Officer Robert Barton
Officer Barton joined a big city police department six years ago.
He was a high school graduate from a middle-class family in a
small town. His parents spoke French, English, and Spanish,
and he was fluent in all three languages. His first six months in
the department (after the academy) was an eye-opener and
somewhat of a cultural shock. At first he was lost, and he had
some difficulty in adjusting to the lifestyles of a big city. It
soon became apparent that the police had bonds of loyalty and
secrecy and that there was a general feeling of “us against
them.” He found that he was part of a subculture that demanded
a high level of esprit de corps and solidarity. It was soon
apparent that the officers he worked with viewed themselves as
the “thin blue line.” His fellow officers that were in his
academy class came from varying backgrounds, and most of
them had lived in metropolitan areas all of their lives. They
shared diverse values, attitudes, and perspectives. Slowly but
surely the officers felt the need to belong and assimilated the
new subculture, and in relatively short time, they became
comfortable interacting with one another. They became a source
of mutual support to each other.
Robert Barton, like most of his peers, started out slowly and
was somewhat overawed by the total process, but in time he
began to think, act, and feel like a cop. He wanted to be a good
cop. His goals were to preserve the peace and to protect people
and society from criminals. Barton placed a relatively high
value on individual rights and due process of law. He really
wanted to protect and serve, but with the reality of the street
and the social status that he sought, within the group, he
quickly accepted the norms and values of his peers and of his
field training officers (FTO). Barton was a good candidate for
the socialization process and quickly learned the importance of
going along with the flow. The taboos were readily apparent
such as failure to back up an officer who is in danger and above

2. all exhibit bravery in the face of danger or suffer the
consequences and be ostracized by the group. Barton also
learned that his immediate sergeant would be the most
important in his life while working. This proved to be especially
true during the two-year probationary period.
After three years in the patrol division, Officer Barton was
reassigned. He was placed in a Joint Gang Task Force, which
consisted of 26 investigators and 1 supervisor from 6
jurisdictions who formed a tightly knit work group. This was a
group that was just organized, and he wanted to become a full-
fledged member of the group.
It consisted of a homogeneous and cohesive group of bilingual
people who identified with each other and shared a unique set of
values, attitudes, and beliefs related to their job. Based on
continual face-to face interaction among themselves and with
gang members, they soon became a viable component in the
effort to control gang activities. It was immediately apparent
that the task force rewarded loyalty, secrecy, and conformity to
group-shared expectations. Their highest priority was to
suppress gang activity to reduce the occurrence of gang-related
crimes. Some of the activities the task force performed skirted
the law, and it was not uncommon that they conducted illegal
searches and stopped many individuals who were not known to
have a gang affiliation. In other instances, arrests were made
without probable cause, and many suspected gang members
were booked and then released. In other words, get them off of
the street. Although Bob Barton tried to remain neutral and
adhere to his set of personal values, he needed recognition,
support, and approval from the group. Subconsciously, he
wanted to be a “stand-up guy,” and he felt compelled to
sacrifice his standards to achieve acceptance and status from the
work group. Membership in the group became an end in itself.
Abstract notions of right and wrong became irrelevant to him.
Integrity consisted of loyalty to and protection of the group.
The rationalization was that no one really got hurt, and there
was a real need to preserve peace in the communities.

3. Using concepts related to groups and group dynamics, explain
what happened in this situation. When does group cohesiveness
cease to be positive and become pathological? Are subcultures
in police work inevitable? Explain. What steps might you take,
as a police administrator, to prevent this from occurring?
Summary
Human beings are social animals that live, work, and find
varying degrees of psychosocial validation in groups. Groups,
as the basic unit of social organization, provide people with a
cultural milieu in which to satisfy their personality needs as
well as their social need for interaction with significant others.
Each person develops a social identity, a unique sense of self,
and an internalized set of normative controls through
meaningful interaction with other people during the
socialization process.
Most people belong to and participate in a wide variety of
formal organizations and informal cliques. Some groups are task
oriented and highly structured. Other groups are much more
casual and coalesce around vague (loosely defined) common
interests. These groups tend to emphasize the importance of
meaningful interpersonal relationships as opposed to the task
itself.
Each group develops a distinctive social orientation, or
collective persona. New members are socialized to behave in
certain ways. They are expected to learn and internalize
appropriate roles, norms, values, and cultural perspectives. All
members are rewarded forconformity to group-shared
expectations and punished if they deviate. Consciousness of
kind and internalized self-control reduce conflict and promote
collaboration.
Groups that become functional entities are defined, as viewed
by social interactionist, when two or more officers interact with
other members. Another prerequisite is to share one or more
goals. Involvement in this definition is the key, and members
allow themselves to be governed by a normative system
of attitudes, values, and behavior that lead to a stable

4. relationship. Additionally, it is found that officers will form
subgroups based on interpersonal attraction or rejection.
Work groups are mechanisms through which goal-oriented
human beings learn relevant knowledge, technical skills, and
job-related behaviors. Groups have life cycles just like all other
living organisms. Group dynamics have an effect on individual
performance. Group dynamics also influence the efficiency,
effectiveness, and productivity of the organization. Whether
these effects are good or bad will depend on member needs and
the complexity of the task; the size, composition, norms,
and cohesiveness of the group; and the prevailing reward
structure.
Stages in the group developmental process include the following
steps: orientation, conflict and challenge, cohesion, delusion,
disillusion, and acceptance. Teamwork that will result in a
winning team comes to pass because of the hard work involved
in understanding the behavior of team members and the leader.
The team leader must strive to create a team wherein each
officer accepts and promotes the four Cs of team membership:
collaboration, conform, contribute, and cooperate.
Experienced police administrators accept that groups,
subgroups, and cliques exist within the police department. They
understand that groups are inevitable and ubiquitous. They also
know that groups unleash powerful synergistic forces that can
have either good or bad consequences, depending on the
situation. The police administrator’s principal job is to manage
the department’s human resources in such a way as to increase
its overall efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity. In order
to accomplish this objective, he or she must do the following:
(1) accept the group phenomenon as a fact of organizational
life; (2) identify and seek cooperation from informal group
leaders; (3) prevent dysfunctional competition and the
development of win–lose situations; (4) avoid forcing members
to choose between allegiance to management and to their group;
(5) adopt a coach’s attitude toward groups, subgroups, and
cliques within the organization; (6) motivate work groups by

5. appealing to their sense of competence; and (7) utilize
traditional and nontraditional methods to encourage individual
effort as well as group collaboration.
The police subculture is viable and has a strong influence on
police agencies. These norms exert a strong influence over the
individual conduct of officers, and it does not take long for a
new officer to learn what acceptable behavior is. Norms come
into existence as the result of group interaction. It is readily
apparent that police departments meticulously demand a strong
degree of loyalty.
Effective team leaders have proven to be those who can
recognize and contribute to a decisive group process. Research
suggests that a team leader is an individual who has developed
the capacity to persuade and motivate others to achieve
objectives and goals. This type of team leader is easily
identifiable because they have demonstrated the capacity to
work with a group of officers and transform them into a
cohesive, dynamic, and hard-charging productive work group. A
positive team climate comes into existence because the leader
demonstrates clear-cut skills, presents a convincing attitude,
provides guidance in establishing priorities, and secures goal
attainment.
In order to be successful in working with groups, police
administrators must have knowledge, good interpersonal skills,
and a positive attitude concerning subgroup participation in the
organization’s decision-making process. This will enable them
to channel the energy, effort, and expertise of group members in
such a way as to achieve the mission, goals, and objectives of
the police department. Truly, knowledge is power, and skill is
the ability to translate knowledge into action.
Discussion Topics and Questions
1.
List and discuss the distinct social functions that groups
perform for their members.
2.

6. What are the characteristics of formal work groups, and how do
they differ from informal groups within law enforcement
agencies?
3.
How do social interactionists define a group, and why do they
place such an emphasis on action?
4.
What are the principal psychosocial needs that motivate human
beings to join and remain active in informal as well as formal
groups?
5.
Name and discuss four categories commonly used to classify
groups in terms of their function. Which are most often
associated with the division of labor?
6.
Identify and describe the primary structural components that are
common to both formal and informal groups.
7.
The police are referred to as a subculture. What is a subculture?
What are values and norms, and how are they passed on to new
members?
8.
How does the prevailing reward structure influence individual
performance and work-group productivity?
9.
Identify, list, and discuss the characteristics of work groups that
have a direct effect on individual performance and
organizational productivity.

7. Title
ABC/123 Version X
1
Business Forms Worksheet
ETH/321 Version 4
1
University of Phoenix MaterialSample Business Forms
Worksheet
There are seven forms of business: sole proprietorship,
partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability
company (including the single member LLC), S Corporation,
Franchise, and Corporation.
1. Select one of the forms of business
2. Research and provide three advantages and three
disadvantages for this business form.
3. Provide a 100- to 200-word summary in which you provide an
example business for each form. Discuss at least one of the
advantages and one of the disadvantages of that form and
potential legal forms that might be required.
Business Form:
Advantages
2.
3.
Disadvantages
2.

8. 3.
Summary
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