Managing from the Middle
Frontline Supervisors and Perceptions of Their Organizational Power
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6090443 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kimberly R Kras (0000-0002-0592-0418, University of Massachusetts Lowell), Shannon Portillo (0000-0002-3283-5286, University of Kansas), Faye S Taxman (0000-0001-9530-731X, George Mason University) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 215-236 |
| Publication date | 2017-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Law & Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0265-8240 • E-ISSN: 1467-9930 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/lapo.12079 |
| OpenAlex | W2610883339 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 39 |
Frontline supervisors serve in a critical role, maintaining relationships between upper management and frontline workers; however, we still know relatively little about how subordinates view their power in relation to their supervisors and how frontline supervisors understand and exercise their own power. Focusing on street‐level workers and frontline supervisors across a statewide community corrections agency, we explore perceptions, experiences, and assertions of power in the workplace. Using focus groups with thirty‐two street‐level probation and parole officers and focus groups and field observations of seventy‐five frontline supervisors, we find that officers and frontline supervisors have widely differing views on the power of the frontline supervisory position, some of which are influenced by gender. While street‐level workers align frontline supervisors with policy creators, frontline supervisors view themselves as disempowered go‐betweens. Frontline supervisors compensate for their perceived lack of power in policymaking and implementation by using micropower strategies to assert their power. This study extends street‐level bureaucrat theory to the role of frontline supervisors, who in practice are distant from the upper management roles with which they are typically categorized
Agency (philosophy · Business · Focus group · Micropower · Perception · Political science · Power (physics · Public relations · Sociology · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Homelessness and Social Issues · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice · Marketing
What Makes or Breaks Evidence-Based Supervision? Staff and Organizational Predictors of Evidence-Based Practice in Probation
Specialty Probation Officers as Street-Level Bureaucrats
A realist review to develop a theory of effective front-line management in probation and youth justice
“They’re Meant for Men”
Implementation of Multi-agency Safeguarding Arrangements Regarding Exploitation of Young People
Prosecutor‐driven reform and racial disparities
Managerial Communication and Frontline Workers’ Willingness to Abide by Rules
The Role of Boundary-Spanners in the Control of a Chinese Garment Factory in Myanmar
The Psychology of Criminal Conduct
Street‐Level Bureaucracy Theory
Translating Organizational Change
The Impact of Race and Gender on Correctional Officers' Orientation to the Integrated Environment
How Race, Sex, and Age Frame the Use of Authority by Local Government Officials
Construction of Justice at the Street Level
No Illusions
The Exercise of Power in Coercive Organizations
Dimensions and Patterns in Employee Empowerment
Framing Organizational Reform
The concept of power
The Justice Motive in the Social Policy Process
The Anthropology of Industrial Work
Hierarchies, Jobs, Bodies
Workers, Managers, and Customers
| Unique citing works | 8 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,6 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2025 (5) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |