Week 2.1

Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read Chapters 2 and 3 in the textbook and the Moynihan (2009) article, The Response to Hurricane Katrina (Links to an external site.).

Every organization within the field of criminal justice has a management hierarchy of some sort. Included among the many tasks assigned to managers are budget planning, financial decision making, and effecting personnel decisions. However, what is missing at times in criminal justice agencies is effective leadership. Too often policy makers confound leadership with management. The two can be, and often are, quite dissimilar.

In the City of New Orleans immediately after Hurricane Katrina, a variety of political and local managers and leaders congregated in the Central Business District in an effort to arrive at a consensus as to the wisest course of action. Among those present was Michael Brown, the director of FEMA, Ray Nagin, the Mayor of New Orleans, and various state politicians. No action plan could be developed as each respective politician was so focused on their own needs that they soon became blinded to effective alternatives. Added to those problems were the combined effects of serious deficiencies in communication and coordination of rescue efforts.

Consider the information provided in your required sources for this discussion and include the following elements in your initial post:

• Explain the major characteristics of leadership. Describe the primary traits of management.
• According to the five functions of management developed by Henri Fayol, explain the ways in which the response to Hurricane Katrina failed.
• Evaluate the financial constraints that affected the situation at the time and describe which organization or individual you believe offered the most effective leadership after the storm. Provide a rationale supporting your statements with evidence from the required readings.

Your initial post should be at least 400 words in length.