Abstract
The corrections literature is replete with themes of organizational conflict. Recent efforts to combat such conflict have been directed toward the professionalization of the custodial staff. This paper assesses the nature and extent of the linkage between professionalization on the one hand and cynicism, role conflict, and work alienation on the other.
Data for the project came from the responses of 179 prison guards working in two custody-oriented correctional institutions. Data were analyzed by means of multivariate regression techniques.
Generally, we found that professionalism does reduce each of the criterion variables, but in different ways. The paper concludes by relating the research findings to those reported elsewhere.
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