Organizational theory often describes organizations in metaphorical terms. Theorists frequently utilize descriptive terms taken from biological, mechanistic and information systems as a means of understanding what organizations are conceptually and how they function in real-world scenarios. In this view, organizations can be considered living organisms and machines, depending upon the theorist and the particular point of view that he/she ascribes to. The broader point in all of these comparisons is that organizations are at once composed of individual human actors that help shape and determine a particular organizational culture, and are often beyond the influence of individual human agents. The issue of organizational change allows us to see
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Toxic organizational practices, however, can act as a corrupting influence as they can cause individuals to abandon otherwise ethical behavior in favor of unethical practices that will better ingratiate themselves with others in the organization who are doing the same thing. In the context of police departments, officers are sometimes unwilling to speak out against corruption that they witness in their own departments. Dubois (2014) defines this as the blue code of silence: “the widespread perception that police personnel, who are expected to act with courage and integrity, are unlikely to report police corruption” (p. 7). This phenomenon can be understood as a negative byproduct of organizational socialization in that it derives from the informal culture of police departments; a culture that reinforces the importance of loyalty to one`s fellow officers. Taken in the abstract, this value can be positive. Within the situational context of departmental corruption, it can also lead to the individual corruption of an otherwise ethical individual and help perpetuate negative behaviors among officers (Giblin,
Toxic organizational practices, however, can act as a corrupting influence as they can cause individuals to abandon otherwise ethical behavior in favor of unethical practices that will better ingratiate themselves with others in the organization who are doing the same thing. In the context of police departments, officers are sometimes unwilling to speak out against corruption that they witness in their own departments. Dubois (2014) defines this as the blue code of silence: “the widespread perception that police personnel, who are expected to act with courage and integrity, are unlikely to report police corruption” (p. 7). This phenomenon can be understood as a negative byproduct of organizational socialization in that it derives from the informal culture of police departments; a culture that reinforces the importance of loyalty to one`s fellow officers. Taken in the abstract, this value can be positive. Within the situational context of departmental corruption, it can also lead to the individual corruption of an otherwise ethical individual and help perpetuate negative behaviors among officers (Giblin,