There appears to be a method to the madness within the
Arizona Department of Corrections today. This is based on the fact that no
matter how much evidence is released regarding agency flaws and shortcomings,
the administration at the top refuses to change, alter or re-direct their
efforts to comply with public pressure and compliance with the rules of law.
It appears they would rather
face mass litigation and expensive lawsuits than improving their own manner of incarceration
and those associated custodial responsibilities outlined within their own
policies and procedures. It is this challenge that gives them purpose and
direction in this environment of controlled chaos and warfare.
Thus it is interesting how this strategy of organizational
warfare against the media, the public and those families of those persons
incarcerated is being waged by one man and one man alone. These methods are
clearly outlined in pre-existing strategies that have come to light and outline
final goals.
Up to this point the strategy has been clear by those paying
attention to the lingering disease of flawed performance and noncompliance with
rules of law. These men in control have created a chain of command where those
appointed in uncovered positions follow their lead but constrained by influence
and fear of retaliation.
They have acquired this false sense of loyalty by the way
the administration created a false sense of participation in all matters at
hand but never allowing a “groupthink” product to develop independently without
just cause or permission at the top.
It is obvious they have used a divide and conquers strategy
through the process of segmenting their forces and / or employees. This allows opportunities
to make quick decisions and avoid resistance by the internal culture as they have
accomplished breaking the entire agency into smaller micro sized groups that
pretend they can run or operate on their own but are in all actually totally
dependent upon command from above.
They do this to give them a false sense of positive spirit [morale]
so that they will continue to work hard to accomplish and operate the command
directives but on paper and communiqués they appear to be acting on it alone or
with the authority to do so independently.
This strategy is a pure deflection of will power and
responsibility / accountability in case it has a blow back effect and liability
/ plausible deniability becomes an issue. It also gives the group more time to
think about themselves rather than the leader and more about the group’s
mission and needs.
Since the director has pitted the agency against the media,
the public or incarcerated persons inquiring, he has started a war against them
and turning it into a crusade with the identification of them [the media, public
and families] being the “enemy” and make them see that to beat this enemy is
survival to the mission and success of their goals.
So how did they persuade subordinates into fighting this war
against this “enemy?” They used the traditional elements of war to establish
control while creating chaos along the way.
They declared war on the media, the public and the families
of incarcerated persons identifying them as the enemy –
- Use the turmoil and serious incidents to fuel energy against losing presence of mind and purpose of this fight keeping the employees in line and controlled.
- Create a sense of urgency and a “use versus them” ideology to keep them focused on the “enemy” and not internal issues that might come up during this chaos.
- Turn this into a crusade to make them think less about themselves and think more of the agency or groups involved with.
- Separate and divide employees into smaller groups e.g. unions, geographical representation, etc so they are easier to control.
- Trade space for time ~ avoid attacking or counter attacking the enemy by playing passive games of political correctness and limited dissemination of information.
- Lose battles but not the war – give small concessions but never relinquish control.
- Control the dynamics – press releases and limit information that reveals internal control mechanisms.
- Control the blame factor – sacrifice those below to satisfy the craving for justice through the employee disciplinary process showing zero tolerance to mistakes.
- Negotiate for change while advancing your ideologies in secret and out of sight.
- Prepare an exit strategy for every critical event or press release.
- Make it difficult to determine fact and fiction – misperception and vague responses.
- Control perceptions of reality and control them to keep employees focused on their own problems rather than external events.
- Take the high moral ground – righteousness in the name of public safety or prison wellness and the safety of all correctional staff working inside prisons.
Their goal is to cause maximum chaos and provoke aggression.
This will likely result in a desperate overreaction by the prison population
but will be quickly quelled by forces needed to retake control of all the
prison elements temporarily lost by the rebellion or acts of terror.
In the end, they counter terror with organized terror
(force) and justify their acts with the needs to balance safe and secure prison
management that was initialized by internal forces and guided by external
political motives looking for new ways to stabilize the prison industry.
