Criminal Justice Organizational Conflict – CJUS 830

CG • Section 8WK • 11/08/2019 to 04/16/2020 • Modified 09/05/2023

Course Description

This course examines the nature, varieties, causes, and manifestation of criminal justice organizational conflict. The focus of this course is internal organizational conflict. Students will research organizational issues and apply alternative resolution techniques and transformational leadership at the organizational level.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Rationale

Every public safety leader in more than one point in their career will be involved in resolving conflicts. Almost daily public safety leaders deal with internal and external conflict resolution. However, many career defining moments may be centered on a public safety leader’s ability to successfully identify, navigate, and resolve sensitive internal and external conflict. This course prepares leaders for this challenge.

Course Assignment

Textbook Readings and Lecture Presentations

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview. 

Discussions (4)

There will be 4 Discussions throughout this course. Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to provide a thread as described in each individual Discussion. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 2 other classmates’ threads. The thread must be a minimum of 500 words.  Each reply must be 250 words.

Conflict Resolution: Part 1 – Problem Description Assignment

The Conflict Resolution: Part 1 – Problem Description Assignment will require you to identify a criminal justice professional or inter-group conflict issue that is of import to you. The paper for this assignment will be 5 to 8 pages in length consistent with current APA style and will consist of the following elements:

  • The Problem Description – This should support your assertion that the situation you have identified is indeed one in which both a conflict is present and could benefit from a conflict resolution intervention.
  • Detailed Background – this is needed to provide detailed background information and context related to the conflict.
  • Examples of Manifestation - specific examples of how the specific conflict manifests itself should be provided. The paper should also review how the conflict escalates and deescalates and the interpersonal or social psychological facets of the conflict.
  • Previous Efforts of Resolution - You will need to review any previous efforts to resolve the conflict.
  • Further assignment specific instructions are given in the Conflict Resolution: Part 1 – Problem Description Assignment instruction sheet.

Conflict Resolution: Part 2 – Literature and Conceptualization Assignment

This assignment will comprise the second section of your Conflict Resolution: Part 4 – Proposal Assignment. The Conflict Resolution: Part 2 – Literature and Conceptualization Assignment paper will be 12 to 14 pages in length consistent with current APA style. This assignment will consist of a thorough review of the literature pertaining to the identified conflict as well as the theoretical orientation you have chosen to conceptualize the conflict dynamic.

You should begin this assignment by reviewing the salient required texts for this course and any texts listed in the References Section of this Syllabus. In addition, 20 scholarly sources should be reviewed and cited in this paper. Of these, 12 articles, at minimum, should be from recent (past ten years) peer-reviewed journals. These articles should all be directly related to the conflict or conceptualization you have chosen. Be certain to appropriately cite all of the sources you use for this assignment. It is essential that the conceptualization you delineate is grounded in the conflict resolution research literature.

Further assignment specific instructions are given in the Conflict Resolution: Part 2 – Literature and Conceptualization Assignment instruction sheet.

Conflict Resolution: Part 3 – Action Plan Assignment

This Conflict Resolution: Part 3 – Action Plan Assignment will be the last section of the Conflict Resolution: Part 4 – Proposal Assignment. This section will consist of providing a detailed plan for addressing the conflict identified in the previous assignments. This paper will be 6 to 8 pages in length. The page count does not include the title page, abstract, or reference section. Be certain that your written product is grammatically correct and consistent with current APA style. The intervention plan that is selected should be congruent with the theoretical conceptualization that you outlined in Conflict Resolution: Part 2 – Literature Review and Conceptualization Assignment. The action plan needs to provide an understanding for how the suggested intervention would cause change in the underlying conflict dynamic. The effect of your action plan on all parties should be thoroughly analyzed. Be sure to justify the need for criminal justice organization alternative resolution techniques. As with the conceptualization that you utilize in Conflict Resolution: Part 2 – Literature Review and Conceptualization Assignment, the Conflict Resolution: Part 3 – Action Plan Assignment should be grounded in the conflict resolution research literature with a minimum of 4 to 8 peer reviewed academic articles and at least one Holy Bible reference.

Further assignment specific instructions are given in the Conflict Resolution: Part 3 – Action Plan Assignment instruction sheet.

Conflict Resolution: Part 4 – Proposal Assignment

This Conflict Resolution: Part 4 – Proposal Assignment is a combination of the papers developed for the 3 previous assignments. The sections developed should be consolidated into one paper which has effective transitions and flows together. Furthermore, this assignment allows you to respond to instructor feedback relative to the other 3 assignments. Again, be sure to address why conflict resolution (alternative dispute resolution) is important in criminal justice agencies. Be certain that your written product is grammatically correct and consistent with current APA style. This paper will be 25 to 30 pages in length. The page count does not include the title page, abstract, or reference section. It must include 15 to 25 sources with at least 1 source being the Holy Bible. The student should have a specific section in the paper dedicated to a synthesis of Christian Worldview and their topic. See the assignment instructions and grading rubric for additional instructions and guidance.

Further assignment specific instructions are given in the Conflict Resolution: Part 4 – Proposal Assignment instruction sheet.

Conflict Resolution: Part 5 – PowerPoint Assignment

The student will create an 8 to 12 slide PowerPoint Presentation (with additional slides as a reference section) based upon their Conflict Resolution: Part 4 – Proposal Assignment. Each slide must have 100 to 150 words of bulleted or paragraph speakers notes. A minimum of 5 scholarly sources and the Holy Bible should be used consistent with current APA style. Additionally, the student should use animations, transitions, and graphics to reflect graduate level research. See the assignment instructions and grading rubric for additional instructions and guidance.

Further assignment specific instructions are given in the Conflict Resolution: Part 5 – PowerPoint Assignment instruction sheet.