| |
STAFF MEMBER |
RESIDENT |
| POSITION: |
Level of
Authority in Hierarchy |
Ward of Court |
| FUNCTION: |
Controlling,
Reforming, and Educating |
Ostensibly
Obeying, Changing Self or Reforming, and Learning |
| POWER
BASES: |
Authority
inherent in being an adult
Authority derived from Institutionalization and impersonal institutional rules
Authority derived from Position in hierarchy
Authority derived from Role |
Power of limited rights as ward
Power of ignorance
Power of immaturity
Power of maladjustment |
| POWER
STRATEGIES: |
LEGITIMATE
STRATEGIES |
AVAILABLE
OPTIONS FOR GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS |
| |
Use of Power
of Legitimate Staff to Resident communication for instruction, command, and persuasion Use of Legitimate control of rewards, permission,
prohibition, providing or withholding programs and activities, privileges, and quality of
life in general |
Use of Power
to defy
Simple non-compliance or threats of non-complianceRefusal to be influenced by rewards |
| |
NON
LEGITIMIZED, INFORMAL POWER STRATEGIES WITH INDIVIDUALS |
AVAILABLE
OPTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS |
| |
Use of
personally based psychological rewards for concessions from residents. Threats of harm
Use of veiled threats of harm
Use of ridicule |
Personally
based psychological rewards for concessions from staff. Threats of harm
Threats of destruction
Use of veiled threats of harm
Use of ridicule
Actual harm and/or destruction |
| |
NON
LEGITIMIZED, INFORMAL POWER STRATEGIES WITH GROUPS |
AVAILABLE
OPTIONS FOR GROUPS AND GROUP LEADERS |
| |
Use of
leverage by manipulating alliances of groups within resident populations and manipulating
resident group leaders. |
Use of
leverage by manipulating group alliances, changing alliances and joining groups to
increase power brokerage and influence staff behavior. Use of bribes to gain concessions for non legitimate rewards and
privileges.
Use of threats to avoid responsibilities or
punishments.
Leaders using alliances of groups with staff in
different departments or on different shifts to polarize staff and gain concessions or
avoid punishments. |
| TECHNIQUES
FOR GAINING COMPLIANCE: |
LEGITIMATE
PROGRAM RELATED TECHNIQUES |
AVAILABLE
OPTIONS |
| |
Community
Government for Negotiation of Program Choices, Mediation Of Conflicts, Group Process for
Resolving Problems, Gaining Consensus, and Formal Petitioning of Administration. |
Group
participation for self interest and self determination within program constraints and
guidelines. |
| |
NON
LEGITIMATE TECHNIQUES |
AVAILABLE
RESPONSES |
| |
Non program
related negotiation, bargaining for compliance and conceding non program related
privileges or avoidance of punishment, deceiving and manipulating. |
Non program
related negotiation, bargaining to gain concessions for non program related privileges or
avoidance of punishment, deceiving and manipulating. |
| BASES
FOR NATURAL COOPERATION |
NATURAL COOPERATION IN DYADS |
NATURAL
COOPERATION BETWEEN AUTHORITIES AND RESIDENT GROUPS |
| |
1. In a
non-coercive, non-intimidating, non-manipulative program in which institutional staff can
function sometimes as the authority, sometimes as the maturity coach, and sometimes as a
caring, listening adult friend, relationships between individual residents and staff can
be formed. This type of relationship, over time, can grow and deepen naturally and
result in strong bonds filling an extreme void for the first time in the youth's
life. In such a relationship, the adult eventually becomes a model. This
relationship, combined with the positive program features, will eventually supplant the
implicit influence of dysfunctional family members, especially parents. This
relationship eventually results in the adoption of a new positive identity and self
concept that becomes a persistent motivator for positive behavior independent of social,
environmental influences. Finally, testing one's capacities, increasing one's
competence, security in belonging to a group, having strong, mutually accepting bonds,
gaining recognizable status in the group, struggling with the group to achieve challenging
group goals are all powerful, natural motivators which, if channeled positively will
result in the acquisition of positive character, values and maturity, while if left
unchanneled at this early age, or channeled negatively, with have negative results for the
person and the group. A positive, formal role structure provides the opportunity to
naturally channel their early development. |
Program
features, orchestrated by institutional staff, that provide natural incentives to pursue
constructive, program related goals voluntarily. Open avenues for productive
behavior that is integrated with the welfare of the community and its program related
goals and that are equally and equitably rewarded result in the growth of character and
solidifying caring human bonds. These program features channel program and role
related behaviors that eventually become incorporated into the behavioral repertoire of
resident groups and individuals. The consistency, honesty, fairness, support, care,
and sensitive regard for the feelings and level of maturity of each member of the group
results in the incorporation of a natural courtesy and regard by each member for all
members of the group. Careful, open discussion of the mistakes and choice dilemmas
of the members of the group eventually results in a natural tendency to consider possible
consequences of their individual and group behavior. A group identity develops and a
pride in the group character develops resulting in a tendency of the members of the group
to maintain this pride in the group character and identity. |
| |
2. As the
resident moves from naturally and voluntarily cooperating in the beginning as a novice and
pupil through the levels of social and work roles, because of the structure of the roles,
he also rises from a novice or apprentice in work and pupil in social roles to a
supervisor of work and teacher of social roles and community living. His relation to
knowledge and skill is also changing so that it eventually becomes mastered and owned when
he, himself, is passing it on to beginners. This transformation in relationship to
knowledge and skill is similar to the transformation from child to adult and parent and
from resident and ward to staff. It is possibility for many youths in the program to
take this path and for some to even transcend their former way of being in the world as a
pawn, buffeted about by incomprehensible forces of life to a person who is not only
responsible for his actions and in control of his destiny but also socially responsible
for the quality of life of his community, along with his peers mutually responsible for
the welfare of the community and its members as well as his own welfare. He
transcends to a level of awareness of the meaning, significance and value of the
knowledge, skills. He becomes aware of the value of the customs, rules, processes,
and the goals, purposes, and destiny of his own life and the life of the community as one
organic whole. |
|
When the natural sources of influence are compared to
the coercive and inconsistent power strategies, one can easily see that the
coercive-inconsistent style results in the development of negative character traits while
the natural results in development of a naturally, voluntarily owned and incorporated,
positive character that endures. The voluntarily entered, positive, role-specific
behaviors involved in the progression of positive roles results in a genuine incorporation
of positive behaviors and values. The coerced or manipulated behavior simply means
the former way of being is suppressed along with resentment over the fact that their will
has been usurped. When the coercion is no longer present, the old way of being will
re-surface with vengeance albeit increased wariness. |
