Benson and Decker (2010) discuss the organizational structure of international d

Question

Benson and Decker (2010) discuss the organizational structure of international drug smuggling enterprises. One of their findings is that these groups were “highly adaptable to their environment” – an effective organizational strategy. As strange as it may sound, is it possible that criminal justice administrators could learn organizational lessons from drug smugglers? After reading the article, discuss the authors’ findings and formulate at least two substantive ideas about this.

http://archives.cerium.ca/IMG/pdf/Benson_Decker_-_The_Organizational_Structure_of_International_Drug_Sumggling.pdf

Explanation / Answer

Based on the article, following are two prominent findings by the authors (I have tried to go through as much of the paper as possible, but it is a very long paper for the time given - so, I've tried my best):

1. They observed that offenders were connected in ways that allowed them to assemble teams, identify targets, commit crimes together, and dispose of the proceeds. These relationships were the conse- quence of generalized offending roles, weak ties and fluid relation- ships, not a formal, rational structure.

2. Complex or formally organized groups can also have a structure that is horizontally organized. These organizations do not have such graded positions as in a vertical hierarchy and resemble a line connecting various functions rather than a centralized source of control.

3. The horizontal, informal, and loosely connected nodes suc- ceeded the more tightly organized cartels that preceded them. This work has illustrated the adaptability of groups of offenders to their environment.

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