The “How Kristin Died” case study discusses the inherent problems with organizational design and how it can have tragic implications for innocent victims. The case discusses the murder of Kristin and the difficulties she encountered when dealing with our bureaucratic system. For Kristin the court system failed her and this case outlines how the inefficiencies in the system can have a profound negative impact on other individuals too. Much of this case is related to organizational theory. Organizational theory is about organizational design/structure, the relationship organizations have with their environment and how individuals act within that framework. It is important to public administration because public administration is not exempt to the issues associated with design and structure such as redundancy and hierarchal roadblocks. In addition, public administration has a unique relationship with the environment as it can shape the environment it operates in dramatically. Communication issues within public administration are readily abundant as this case shows. Lastly, understanding of how individuals behave in the framework of public administration can shape how executives, middle managers and street-level bureaucrats act and perform their jobs accordingly. Understanding how organizational theory works and the impact it has on public administration may potentially prevent tragedies like Kristin’s from occurring again.
Organizational structure is how an organization is setup and divided into different divisions or groupings for administrative purposes. Organizational structure/bureaucracy is defined as “a hierarchy of authority to coordinate the activities of the specialized offices and integrate their jurisdictional authority” (Rosenbloom, 2008). For instance in relation to the case, the separation of the departments of corrections, probation and parole into