«Å bryte linja» Rutiner og fleksibilitet i organisering av fengslingen etter terrorangrepet 22/7-11Knut Mellingsaeter Sørensen (f. 1972), sosiolog (UiO, 2007), høgskolelektor, Kriminalomsorgens høgskole og utdanningssenter. knut.sorensen@krus.no SAMMENDRAG Artikkelen baserer seg på en kvalitativ studie av Ila fengsels håndtering av fengslingen av Anders Behring Breivik etter terrorangrepet mot Norge 22/7-11. Artikkelen viser at Ilas organisasjonsstruktur ikke var dimensjonert for å møte de utfordringene de sto overfor. Det ble derfor etablert en midlertidig organisasjonsform som var mer fleksibel og hurtigarbeidende, i tillegg til at tiltak skulle gjennomføres i den byråkratiske og hierarkiske strukturen. Den midlertidige organisasjonen skulle etablere nødvendige sikkerhetstiltak og organisere en avdeling med saerlig høyt sikkerhetsnivå. Artikkelen diskuterer hvordan denne midlertidige organisasjonen kommuniserte, besluttet og effektuerte beslutninger i organisasjonen. På grunn av kritisk tidsknapphet og en forventning om å handle raskt, samt utilstrekkelig kapasitet i linja, vokste det frem et uformelt prinsipp for handling: «just do it». Fengslingen innebar også at Ila fikk gradert informasjon som ikke skulle lekke ut. Dette førte til etablering av et annet uformelt handlingsprinsipp: «need to know». Dette resulterte i en løskobling fra den formelle strukturen. Ifølge informantene i studien var det nødvendig å bryte den hierarkiske linjeorganiseringen. Lederne anså det som viktigere å følge de uformelle handlingsprinsippene og utvise fleksibilitet enn å følge den formelle strukturen, selv om tilknytningen til linja i utgangspunktet er dypt forankret i organisasjonen. Sterke forventninger fra omgivelsene påvirket dermed ledernes fortolkning av situasjonen (sensemaking). Studiens funn antyder samtidig at det kan oppstå en konflikt mellom «just do it» og «need to know» i kritiske situasjoner. ABSTRACTThe article presents a case study of Ila Prison and the imprisonment of Anders Behring Breivik after the terror attacks in Norway 22/7-11. The case is an example of how an organization handles a critical situation, and the research question to be answered is: How can leaders' sequential patterns of actions in a critical situation be understood? The study shows that the organizational structure at Ila, at the time of the terror attacks, was not dimensioned to meet the requirements that the imprisonment of Breivik implied. Because of the critical shortage of time and the immediate need for action, members of a temporary organization incorporated the informal principle «just do it». The imprisonment of Breivik implied that staff got access to classified information, and in order to reduce the risk for leaks, the informal principle «need to know» was incorporated as well. These two informal principles resulted in a loose coupling from the formal organizational structure, where the ordinary chain of command was broken and an alternative sequential pattern of action was established. Clearly defined expectations from the e...
The terror attacks in Norway on 22 July 2011 had a significant and lasting impact on Norwegian society. This article discusses a study of the prison officers who worked with the convicted offender Anders Behring Breivik in the days and weeks following the attacks. The prison officers were emotionally affected by the case, to the point where they were concerned that their professional performance might suffer. When not at work, they were constantly reminded of the consequences of the terrorist attacks through media channels and conversations with family, friends and neighbours. To remain professional in a situation that they found personally very challenging, they developed particular coping strategies. These strategies allowed them to avoid conflicts between the work, family and society spheres in the sense of their personal lives affecting their work performance and vice versa. The officers were forced to make concessions in their personal lives, however, which meant that their professional lives as prison officers moved beyond the boundaries of the prison.
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