Can criminological theories help manage crime in the workplace

Can criminological theories help manage crime in the workplace Security management is a task that required diverse skills which include human management, time management and some fundamental theories as guiding principles. The essence of the knowledge of these theories in relation to criminology to Security Managers should not be undermined in order to have and effectively achieve the organisations set goals or key performance indicators. This essay shall focus on how the knowledge of these theories could enhance the performance of a Security Manager in the work place in relation to theft and theft related offences in the retail business environment. However, if we give heed to the macro theory of criminology, a bigger picture surrounding the cost of theft in the retail industry rather than just focusing on cost of goods stolen in isolation can be fully examined. It should be noted from the onset that there are some other offences which can be perpetrated as part of criminal conduct that can ensue alongside the particular offence of retail theft e.g. assault inflicted on staff who have no choice but to physically engage a thief in the workplace (BRC Retail Crime Survey, 2009). Various reports including the crime survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) indicate with interest that thefts in retail shops are also being perpetrated by employees, and therefore note should be made that the offence is not exclusively being perpetrated by customers. As mainstream surveys tend to cover those who are not under the category of the organisations labour force, it is important to consider this dimension in the essay as the impact of such losses to retail industry cannot be ignored. On many occasions, there are complimentary offences but aspects relating to theft shall be considered in this essay. There have been several schools of thought in relation to applying criminological theories to crime management. They suggested that effective crime managements could only be achieved by using these theories conjunctively. Strengths and weaknesses of these theories shall be analysed and their relevance to the theft management in a retail business environment shall also be considered. The class of the offenders guilty of this crime, motivational factors and how they are carried out shall also be discussed using the appropriate theories and a strategy to managing and reducing delinquency. The 1968 theft act proscribes theft as; ..A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriate property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it; and thief and steal shall be construed accordingly (Theft Act 1968, sec 1:1). Shoplifting is a common delinquency in the retail business which impacts on stock shrinkage and cost of business insurance. However in general public and media discourse, it is widely accepted that retail theft is a petty crime and there are attempts to explain this phenomenon using theories such as criminal deviant behaviour. In this context, and in such a class based society as the UK, it is not unusually that retail theft is associated with the underprivileged in the society. Such perceptions make it difficult for the police and security managers to take seriously the impact this crime has on high tax paying industries such the retail sector, which incidentally offers employment to millions of workers in the country. Some other criminological theories such as the expected utility principle can breed compliancy in the work done by security managers as this theory assumes that potential criminals are rational beings who can be deterred from committing offences because people will act in an a manner that will increase their benefits and reduce their losses. In this context, the expected utility principle suggests that the commitment of the supposed petty crime of retail theft by employees is unlikely to occur as workers will give heed to their vested economic interest in remaining employed. However, there may be a lack of indebt knowledge of what constitutes retail theft. For instance, an employee inadvertently using part of the companys inventory such as stationeries, souvenirs for self benefit and is within the ambit of the theft act 1968 is guilty of theft. Another sinister form of retail theft involves employees who connive with criminals and pretend not to see the crime being committed. These usually involve the use of false drivers licence and stolen bank statements. . . . . . . . . . .Fraud is an act of deception carried out for the purpose of unfair, undeserved and/or unlawful gain, especially financial gain. (BRC Retail Crime Survey, 2009:pg24). . . . . . . . . . .Card fraud in the BCS (British Crime Survey) is defined as using plastic payment cards, such as bank, debit, credit or store cards, to take money without permission or prior knowledge from a bank, building society or credit card account (or to charge money to credit/debit cards). (Home Office Statistical Bulletin 08/10:pg25). The 2008/09 BCS report reported that plastic card owners who had fallen victim of card fraud had increased. Only 6.4 per cent of card fraud victim confirmed that they were aware that crimes had been committed with their cards within the last 12 month compared to 4.7 per cent in the previous year (Home Office Statistical Bulletin 08/10:pg25). In a bid to demonstrate why people commit crime, the motivational factors, and various groups of people with criminal behaviours and how combinations of criminological theories help in crime management. Rational Choice and Routine Activities theories shall be considered in relation to their relevance to crime management in a mobile phone retailer like Carphone Warehouse Plc. Rational Choice theorists believe that offenders decision to commit crime is based on the available opportunity and that the benefit of their crime outweighing the costs (Nagin et al, 2002). Rational choice theorists believe that crime is a function of individual choice which is influenced by its costs and benefits (Akers et al, 2004). Researches have shown that out of 50 interviewees in a research on shoplifting, 88% admitted that they had shoplifted and 42% of these people take stealing as the only way to earn their living. The average age of offenders as gathered during the interview was 12 years (Schneider, 2005). It is important to have the indebt knowledge of crime costs and its benefit, proportionate sentence and the types of punishment given to those who have committed similar crimes in the past or whether they avoided punishments. With this knowledge in place, it will be more likely to deter crime if its costs are made higher than the benefits e.g., enhancing the protection in places, target hardening, and more punishments when offenders are caught. In a situation where punishments are certain, motivated offenders may not want to subject themselves to hard work before committing the offence (Cullen Agnew, 2002). Rational choice theory is very extensive in range with simple basic elements which are strong but at the same time flexible. Offenders decisions between choices at every point in time tend to be rational. However, the facts of the theory stands that for any crime to be committed, the perceived benefits associated with the crime outweigh its risk. Some people have taking criminal behaviour as a way of life. In some situations, decisions to commit crime are arrived at due to inadequate information available at the time of decision making and all these put together still reflect the important role opportunity plays in criminal act. In addition to opportunity, importance of the environment on crime cannot be undermined. In certain situations, offenders hardly ever have a detailed thought of all the various costs and benefits of their action as some decisions are taken spontaneously (Felson Clarke, 1998). In theory, there are three broad categories of offenders or workplace violence perpetrators; employees, strangers and the intending or potential customers or clients (Chappell and Di Martino, 2000). Employees in most cases take advantage of imperfect systems. In an ideal business environment, organisation should have records of their inventory through regular stock counts. The UK shrinkage rate as a percentage of retail sales stood at 1.29% which was Europes average in 2010 (Bamfield, 2010). In a bid to control and manage crime, Opportunity-reducing techniques are a vital approach which could be achieved by increasing the perceived effort of crime by target hardening, security control access to target and deflecting offenders from target. In cases of card theft, crime facilitators could be controlled by having the owners photos on credit cards, using plastic beer glasses in pubs etc. Another technique involves increasing the perceived risks of crime by security screening, formal surveillance by employees, manned guarding, CCTV and effective lightning which could take the place of a Natural surveillance and help in obtaining footage through the use of technology. Anticipated rewards of crime should also be reduced so as to discourage criminal act. Targets could be removed; there could be property marking, and reducing temptations by ensuring that every motivational factor is put under control. Educating everyone on codes of conducts, and acceptable norms would eliminate t he excuses of being ignorant (Clarke, 1997). It is important to understand the opportunities that facilitate workplace crime in order to combat or reduce the criminal act. In America, introduction of Caller identification devices have removed obscene and threatening phone calls which ordinarily depends upon telephone access and the ability of the caller to hide his own identity. However, rates of other crimes such as car theft and burglary would also be higher when, in fact, they are lower in Britain and some other countries in Europe. Customer theft remains a major source of retail crime in line with general acquisitive crime trends reported by the Home Office. The survey recorded 498,405 incidents of customer theft in total. The previous years survey revealed that retailers suspected they identified perhaps as little as half of all customer theft. The real level of customer theft experienced by respondents was probably somewhere in the region of 750,000 to 1 million thefts or even as high as 2 million for the whole industry (BRC Retail Crime Survey, 2009: Pg 12-13). During 2008-09, the value stolen per incident has continued to decline as retailers continue to improve the protection of high value items. The average value of goods stolen fell by 34 per cent to  £45 per theft. Whilst individual customer thefts may be many times this value, this figure falls comfortably within the range of Penalty Notices for Disorder, a disposal available to the police for first time offenders involved in low value crimes. Nevertheless, only about one third (37 per cent) of customer thefts are reported to the police. (BRC Retail Crime Survey, 2009: Pg 12-13). As a result, the Police Authorities, Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and Neighbourhood Policing Teams are unlikely to be aware of the true level of customer theft occurring in an area. This is reflected in national figures of reported crime which differ significantly from retailers experience (BRC Retail Crime Survey, 2009: Pg 12-13). Contrary to rational choice theory which believes that opportunity is the main factor responsible for crime occurrence, routine activity theory as described by Cohen Felson explained in one of their published articles in 1979 suggests that Crime occurs when there is an intersection in time and space of a motivated offender, an attractive target and lack of capable guardianship. Changes in routine activities in society (e.g. where both couples are working, construction of new roads) can influence crime rates. Peoples daily routine activities affect the likelihood of crime being committed (Cullen Agnew, 2002). . . . . .The routine activity approach still offers the best explanation for the rise in burglary in the United States and Western Europe during the 1960s and 1970s. Included in this explanation is the finding that the best predictor of annual burglary rates is the weight of the smallest television set sold each year. Another important component of the explanation is that far more homes in this period were left unguarded in the day as more women entered Full-time paid work. In fact, the most general explanation of crime rate trends is an indicator of the dispersion of activities away from family and household settings. As people spend more time among strangers and away from their own homes, their risk of personal and property victimization rises (Felson and Clarke, 1998). Every individual has specific areas in which they carry out their daily routine activities and this is called the activity space, domain or a potential path area. This area includes both the places that are visited and routes to such locations from their places of abode. In as much as people are not static, crime will have a non-static nature. In reality, some places, properties or facilities attract more crime than others. It is important to understand that in routine activity theory, crime do occur when there is interaction between a potential offender and a suitable target in time and space; opportunity which is being created by the lack of capable guardianship cannot be undermined. It is very essential to identify the available opportunities and put in place measures to either make these opportunities less attractive or show that the cost outweighs the benefits. These could be achieved through the use of Security devices and technology, proper lighting of an area, orientation and educating staff and visitors through various audio visual devices etc. Many businesses and organisations combine some of these procedures to control and manage crime (Hayes, 1991). Criminological theories play important roles in crime control and management as guidelines to what a Manager should look out for and how these factors should be managed in order to reduce crime. In some occasions where the capable guardianship is available, thefts are being attacked by the detectives in the store or those on patrol (Hayes, 1993; Jones, 1998). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Fraud costs the UK in excess of  £20 Billion. It recognised fraud as a low priority within UK Policing and the UK itself as having an uncoordinated approach (Simms C, Chief Constable West Midlands Police, 2010). In theory, victims are protected by law and most of the conveniences extended to them in the past will no longer be available when the credit reporting agencies have been contacted to report the crimes that thereby impress a theft flag on the victims credit file. Future lenders would be sceptical in exposing themselves to such customers and as such would be demanding for additional information and documents to verify the genuineness of the person requesting for credit facilities. Though, there are different types of customers who visit the organisations on daily basis, some visit with the intention to shoplift, window shop, to see demonstration of new products and to purchase products. It is certain that these groups of customers, with different motives behave differently when they are in the shop and their approaches to staff differ. This is where the level of education on delinquent and staff awareness about customers behaviour have to be improved upon. Security and safety at work place is every employees responsibility. Theft as a workplace crime impacts negatively on all parties involved with the organisation. The business operational costs are increased as a result of losses due to theft and these costs are passed on to their clients and employees. In most cases, it results to increasing costs of security maintenance, insurance premium and other elements of operational costs which will affect employees benefits depending on the magnitude of losses suffered by the organisation. In recent years, retailers have taken action to reduce theft by employees which accounted for 7 per cent of all retail crime by value in 2008-09. Employee theft includes theft of anything of value from the retailer by an employee or an accomplice, such as stealing merchandise, cash, retaining receipts, voiding a sale after a customer has paid and taking the cash, overcharging, short-changing, false mark-downs, coupon and voucher stuffing, credits for non-existent returns or exchanging counterfeit goods for genuine merchandise, and sliding a product through a lane without charging. It can also include serious financial fraud, involving senior or managerial staff. Improved security measures and investigations by expert staff appear to have reduced the opportunity for offences therefore deterring employee-related theft (BRC Retail Crime Survey, 2008: Pg 15). It is apparent that the true cost of theft crime in the workplace is unknown as some factors cannot be quantified. This includes business disruptions, employee morale, loss of customs, management time wasted on incident reporting and documentation (British Chambers of Commerce, 2002). High level workplace theft may also lead to company insolvency. Based on this, it is very important to understand the workplace and the nature of crime facing the business before putting in place any crime anticipatory measures or displacement measures. Rational choice emphasises that opportunity is core in the decision making by offenders when it comes to delinquencies. It is obvious from all indications that once the opportunity is displaced or appears to be of any value, a motivated offender may not notice a likely target. As a result of this, opportunities have to be identified and modified before the related crime can be perpetrated. By virtue of the fact that opportunity is requisite to crime occurrence, it is agreeable that rational choice theory interrelates with the routine activity theory which believes that crime can only happen when there is interception of certain elements. Working in an environment where there is an opportunity of having access to money and property does not translate to committing crime. This shows a subjective aspect of opportunity. It is therefore important to understand that certain factors like social desirability for the product or property, conceal ability of target and proximity do have supportive role to play in conjunction with opportunity for theft to occur (Hollinger and Clarke, 1983). In conclusion, it is therefore compulsory that a Security Manager, who has understood the surroundings where he works, should recognize the risk component, opportunities, and inspirational factors for possible offenders; use the mix understanding of these theories to design an approach to prevent the entire potential crime avenues. The combine knowledge of rational choice and routine activities theories give an insight into what to look out for and how to put in place the preventive measures to control crime. Theft as a workplace crime that can be managed by understanding what items offenders are looking out for, opportunities surrounding such items, characteristics of the targets and detailed understanding of the environment where the targets are situated. It is therefore evident that the knowledge of criminological theories has an immense role to play in assisting the security Manager to manage crimes such as theft in the workplace.

Organized Religion :: essays research papers

ORGANIZED RELIGION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the movie As Good As It Gets, No one in the movie makes a direct reference to God. This is a little odd because all Melvin, Carol, and Simon are all going through very hard times in their life, and at no point in the movie does one of them ask God for help or anything like that. The reason this is odd is because, normally, when a person is going through a very hard time in their life they will ask God for help and will promise something in return, but not these three people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The reason for them to not ask is because they think that they do not need any help and can get through everything by themselves. This is shown very blatantly at two points in the movie. The first time is when Carol has just gotten help from a doctor that Melvin got to take care of her son, Spencer Connelly. After Dr. Green has left and Carol is talking to Beverly Connelly, her mother, they get into an argument about because Carol does not want this help because she says that doing this lets a â€Å"crazy man† into their life. But Beverly yells back saying that this isn’t something you can send back. When Carol tries to refuse the help from Melvin, this shows that she does not want the help.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second time this is shown is when Melvin, Carol, and Simon go to see Simon’s parents so Simon can get some money. He needs the money because he was attacked by some men that were robbing him, and when this happened he started to lose everything he had. But when Simon is at the hotel the night that Carol and Melvin go out to eat he calls his parents wanting to talk and let them know he is in town and wants to see them so he could maybe get some money from them so he has enough to get him started again. They do not answer the phone and he just leaves a message, but when he calls the next morning after having a revelation while sketching pictures of Carol, his mother answers the phone and asks if he needs anything or any help.

Reflective Understanding Of Prince2 Principles In A Project Environment

our site – REFLECTIVE ESSAY EXAMPLE – CUSTOM ESSAY WRITING Introduction PRINCE is a project management method for controlled environments.I found the training comprehensive and the method a little overwhelming, but overall the course provided me with a clear understanding of how the system can help businesses execute successful projects. I obtained information using the slides provided by London South Bank University (2016), and online search of articles and publications about the application of PRINCE, and the different elements of the system.Murray (2011) states that the main reason why PRINCE was upgraded in 2006 the constantly changing nature of project management methods and new challenges of project managers, and PRINCE2 is today’s â€Å"best practice† standard, qualification program, and project management framework that has a detailed project process model. The Seven Principles of PRINCE2 According to the Oracle White Paper (Oracle, 2011), the management processes designed by the framework are based on seven principles: a. continued business justification In my understanding, is necessary to monitor the plan and compare it with the actual performance, to ensure that the original project is still suitable for delivering the objectives. This helps companies monitor the health and feasibility of projects. b. learn from experience The research and review previous projects, use existing effective templates, and apply knowledge obtained from them. c. defined roles and responsibilities The creation of project and activity teams is necessary for the success, and the effective allocation of the roles (Marsh, 1996). d. manage by stages It is important to create control points in the project to separate stages, phases, and identify main events. e. manage by exception Workbenches, such as the Manager Workbench and Review Program Workbench should be implemented in order to manage exceptions and implement automated change control, when exceptions occur. f. focus on products The Deliverables section of the plan should be detailing product expectations, including quality assurance guidelines. g. tailor to suit the project environment Templates provide flexible control for project managers, to change the levels and types of controls to be implemented. PRINCE2 Themes The main themes of PRINCE2 are business case, organisation, risk, change, quality, and plan. The Business Case theme addresses why the project is created, what the options are, outlines the costs, timescales, expected outcomes, and risks. The Project Organisation determines who is the owner of the project, identifies the roles of team members, and authorities. It also highlights the roles and responsibilities of each member of the team a:he Project Board consists of an executive, senior user, and senior supplier. To manage and identify risks, a risk register is created, with each risk having a unique identifier. All users should have access to the risk register. The PRINCE2 Method The method of PRINCE involves controls and breakpoints. TThere are five process groups in the PRINCE2 method: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. The method covers ten different knowledge areas and integrates them in a way that they all contribute towards the successful execution of the plans. The above information is available in the 2009 TSO document (TSO, 2009b). Project Plans and Levels As it has been stated previously, PRINCE2 has an organisational theme that needs to be discussed in detail, in relation with the levels and responsibilities related to each level. The main levels are: programme management, directing, managing, and delivering (TSO, 2009a). The Quality Theme The quality theme features managing expectations and projected outcomes, designing quality assurance and interventions. According to a recent publication by CIPFA (2012), the quality approach allows the planning of systematic activities leading to the identification of the company’s products, the project’s products, and the tracking of the quality methods. Customers’ expectations are analysed, an acceptance criteria is created, and this leads to the detailed project product description. The next task is to generate a project response, and a quality register. Quality, according to the definition of PRINCE2, is â€Å"The total amount of features or characteristics of a product, such that it meets expectations and satisfies the stated needs. Saying that all features of the product have to work as expected for a given amount of time† (London South Bank University, 2016). Simply put, the main purpose of the quality theme is to ensure that all the products are f it for their purpose. This approach signifies that if the quality of the products is compromised, the outcomes of the project will be negatively affected, as well. Before implementing the PRINCE2 project, it is necessary to agree on the acceptance criteria and quality expectations. For quality planning, the MoSCoW method of prioritisation should be used: must have, should have, could have, and won’t have for now. This information is detailed in the CIPFA (2012) publication. Risk Theme The risk management and monitoring features implemented in PRINCE2 are as follows: identifying risk, assessing it, planning (to avoid, exploit, reject, etc.) the risk, implementation of actions by risk owners, and communication through checkpoints, highlights, and reports, according to the PowerPoint lecture of London South Bank University (2016). The identification of risk is followed by their qualitative assessment: high, medium, or low risk categories, and the assessment of each risk’s potential impact. Risk responses can be avoidance, exploitation, enhancement, reduction, or sharing. Change Theme Ferguson (2011) describes this theme as the ability to identify and control baselines, changes, and approve or reject them. The online article talks about the applicability of PRINCE on smaller scale projects. Change management should be based on aligning the objectives of the project with the current changes, and making adjustments in order to meet the expectations of the project owners and the customers. For example, the implementation of a change might change the projected outcomes, therefore, changes need to be made. Progress Theme The Progress theme can be described as providing periodic snapshots of the level of completion and performance towards the objectives (Oracle, 2011). Under this theme, the calculations of Earned Value and Earned Value Projection are completed, and this allows project owners and directors to see the value of work completed against the resources used. Thresholds are also important in this bench-marking process. Conclusion Based on the above review, the main benefits of PRINCE2 for companies can be highlighted as: real time input and monitoring, risk management, performance and quality control abilities, and clear definition of objectives. The main benefit of the PRINCE2 method is that it provides a standard and common language for project management professionals. I believe that adapting the management approach can improve the success rate of small- and large-scale projects alike. Bibliography CIPFA. 2012. PRINCE2 Quick Reference Guide. Ferguson, C. 2011. PRINCE2 for Small-scale Projects. Novare Consulting. London South Bank University. 2016. PRINCE2 Presentations and Lectures. Marsh, D., 1996. Project management and PRINCE. Health Informatics, 2(1), pp.21-27. Murray, A. 2010. White-paper: PRINCE2 AND Governance. Outperform. Document Number: 1042-01-01 Version Number: 1v0 Oracle. 2011. PeopleSoft Projects (ESA) Support for PRINCE2. An Oracle White Paper June 2011 TSO. 2009a. Managing and Directing Successful Projects with PRINCE2. The Stationary Office. TSO. 2009. The Executive Guide to Directing Projects: within a PRINCE2â„ ¢ and MSP ® Environment, TSO 2009

The Deepwater Horizon Mobile Offshore Wells Exploratory...

A detonation on the Deepwater Horizon mobile offshore wells-exploratory platforms unit near the Gulf of Mexico, operated by British Petroleum, on April 20, 2010, or known as BP oil spill. The BP oil catastrophe ignited due to high-pressure methane gas by drilling a deep exploratory at Macondo well, reported by Up Stream Online news. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill still outlasts as a great size accidental marine oil spill in the records of the petroleum industry. The date, report details, and location were based on a doctrine of New York Times. Multiple consequences of BP oil spill include business, environment of the Gulf of Mexico, and wellness. This is a disaster on many levels, said Larry Schweiger, president of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), reported by the Telegraph. The oil spill had caused massive damaged to the environment in long-term has assistance by Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies. The oil spill also the significant impact on commerce enterprise provide by International Business Times and Oxford Economics. Health issue of people living in the areas supports by Louisiana Department of Health Hospitals and Huffington post. The Judicial viewpoints and arrangements of BP oil spill had received examinations from the congress, as well as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of the Interior (DOI), Minerals Management Service (MMS), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the Bureau of SafetyShow MoreRelatedBP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Essay1912 Words   |  8 Pagesthe BP-Oil Spill The eventual buildup to the BP oil spill started during the Bush Administration. The Bush Administrations oil demand and antigovernment sensibility soiled the Minerals Management Service (MMS), the agency charged with regulating offshore drilling. Vice President Dick Cheney had presided over the weakening of drilling regulations, including the exclusion of remote-shut-off switches which might have prevented the disaster. Soon, MMS was nothing but a shell of its former shell filledRead MoreManaging Change of British Petroleum Essay4075 Words   |  17 Pagesa fire and explosion occurred onboard the Deepwater Horizon, a mobile offshore drilling unit owned by Transocean Ltd. and, at the time, operated for BP Exploration amp; Production, Inc. (BP). A huge explosion on BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 people on the night of 20 April 2010. Rescue efforts initially focused on saving the surviving 115 workers from the burning platform, about 50 miles fro m the coast. As the platform, collapsed into the sea, the environmentalRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesIndividual Differences in Negotiation Effectiveness 464 †¢ Third-Party Negotiations 467 Summary and Implications for Managers 469 S A L Self-Assessment Library What’s My Preferred Conflict-Handling Style? 446 Myth or Science? â€Å"Communicating Well Is More Important in Cross-Cultural Negotiations† 462 glOBalization! Anger and Conflict Across Cultures 467 Self-Assessment Library What’s My Negotiating Style? 467 An Ethical Choice Using Empathy to Negotiate More Ethically 468 Point/Counterpoint