CHAPTER 18 ADMINISTRATION

This chapter will provide information regarding managerial and administrative functions you, the Master-at-Arms (MA), will encounter. These duties will be as much a part of your job as supervising the personnel in your division.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Describe the factors that determine the basic structure of Navy law enforcement units. Describe four types of organizational charts.

Because Navy units differ in many ways, a definite organizational structure cannot be prescribed for all Navy law enforcement units. Each command should look at various elements and adjust the organizational structure to fit the needs of the command.

DETERMINING FACTORS

The factors that must be considered in determining the basic structure of the law enforcement office are as follows:

l The mission of the command

l The type of command

l The size, location, and special requirements of the command

l The local operating conditions

l The availability of personnel

l The emphasis to be placed on each law enforcement function

A Navy law enforcement unit should be constructed to accomplish the fundamental objectives of a military organization. The objectives are as follows: . To accomplish the mission l To ensure coordination and control . To fix responsibilities . To group closely related functions l To economize on personnel and equipment

An examination of the organization of installations, of commerce and industry, and of public agencies indicates that there are certain basic principles of organization that are successful in accomplishing a mission. That does not imply that these principles are applicable in every situation. They are, however, to be regarded as questions that the organization planner must answer in the light of the organizational structure.

The organization should have a clearly understood objective, and every segment of the organization should understand its purpose in relationship to the accomplishment of the organizational objective.

The responsibility assigned to all segments and members of the organization should be specific, clear-cut, and understandable to avoid duplication, omission, and neglect resulting from an unassigned duty.

Authority to act should be delegated to the lowest level practical and should be sufficient to carry out the responsibilities assigned to that level.

Every member of the organization should report to one-and only one-superior.

Individuals reporting directly to a supervisor should not exceed the number that he or she can control, supervise, or direct effectively. For example, within the military structure the section is most usually thought of as being the smallest element that one individual controls, supervises, and directs. The maximum span of control varies greatly and will depend upon such factors as the following:

l Experience, training, and personality of superiors and subordinates

l Degree of similarity among subordinate jobs

l Distance by which superiors and subordinates are separated

l Complexity of organization

Every member of the organization should know to whom he or she reports and who reports to him or her.

Each necessary function should be assigned to a single segment of the organization. Related functions should be grouped; unrelated functions, separated.

Staff sections should act only within the scope of _{their responsibilities.} Directives to subordinate units should be properly staffed and follow the command channel.

To the maximum extent possible, consistent patterns of organization should be used at all levels.

Authority and responsibility should be sufficiently delegated to free the delegator of burdensome detail. Heads of organizations may thus manage by exception rather than by review of all routine subordinate actions. Hence, they will become involved only in those actions that are out of the ordinary (exceptional) and cannot or should not be handled by their subordinates.

ORGANIZATION CHARTS

Organizational structure should be reduced to writing and/or chart form. his is to relate structure, assignment of functions, and relationships that members of the organization need to know.

There are several types of charts that may be used to portray graphically the plan of organization of a security department. These include the structural chart, functional chart, position chart, and combination chart.

Structural Chart

This is a chart depicting the structure of an organization. Its purpose is to outline the basic relationship of various components of an organization without including an excessive amount of distracting information (fig. 18-1).

Functional Chart

This chart is used primarily to fix responsibilities or duties by assigning them to specific components or

Figure 18-1.-Structure of a typical security department.

segments of an organization. Within each of the various boxes on the chart, a statement or listing is presented of the function assigned to the particular organizational segment represented by that box (fig. 18-2).

Position Chart

This chart shows the names, positions, and titles or grades of personnel as they fit into the plan of organization.

Combination Chart

Structural, functional, and position charts may be combined by including in each box all the data that would be carried separately on two or more of them. This is practical when the organization is simple; however, when many levels and subdivisions exist within an organization, such a chart may become impractical or unmanageable.

In summary, remember that an organization is not static; hence, it must be constantly reviewed to ensure continuing effective direction of all organizational operations.