Scanning and Assessment Paper

The organization that will be the central focus of this paper is the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This organization is a part of the wider Department of Justice, and its main purpose is to lead the Department’s counterterrorism efforts (Horowitz, 2017). To these efforts, the FBI was said to have dedicated the service of 7000 full-time employees in the 2016 financial year (Horowitz, 2017). This large number points to the fact that the work that is done by the FBI is crucial in the overall function of maintenance of security and justice within the country. One of the major ways in which the efforts are activated is by gathering intelligence on criminal organizations to ensure courtroom convictions.

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In addition to this, it is important to note that the FBI does not limit itself to identifying and preventing terrorist attacks. Depending on the state and the location of their offices in that state, the FBI also participates in meeting the specific criminal justice needs of an area (Mueller, 2008). For instance, in the offices that are located along the South West Border, the Department concerns itself with the identification and combat of violent transnational gangs. In this paper, we will focus our attention on the identification of some of the challenges that the FBI meets with in its operations and make recommendations on how these challenges may be dealt with.

Identification of the Organization’s Issues/Challenges

One of the challenges that may be identified is the evolving nature of threats and the need for the bureau to evolve swiftly and effectively to deal with these threats. Indeed, the nature of the work that is done by the FBI cannot remain stagnant because the threats that are facing the country change with different eras (Mueller, 2008). Where the threat of terrorism was once the primary concern, recent reports indicate that the most recent threat that is facing the FBI is Homegrown Violent Extremists (HVEs) (Horowitz, 2017). These are defined as individuals who are resident in and operate from the U.S.A. but who are inspired and even recruited to operate on behalf of foreign terrorist organizations. This challenge is both new and extremely engaging for the FBI because of its unpredictable nature.

The changing nature of the threats that are dealt with by the FBI also means that the threats are usually emerging in different parts of the country at different times. For this reason, the new threats also present the need for the organization to transfer resources to where they are needed. Therefore, agents (and their families) are usually transferred to the geographical centers of the new threats. Commentators have stated that changing the direction of as large an organization like the FBI is a herculean feat. For instance, when they Bureau’s focus is shifted, this means that its structure and operations also have to be re-aligned to accord with the changed needs of the organization.

Rationale for the Issues and Challenges

Issues such as the ones that are discussed above are bound to arise in an organization that deals with such volatile targets as the FBI. It is noteworthy that the nature of terrorist attacks has changed significantly over time. With the change in the different methods through which the nation’s security is threatened, there also needs to be a change in the manner in which the organization responds to threats and this will more often than not require a change in major components of the Bureau such as its strategic framework and structural support. Furthermore, it is worth noting that change will almost always demand a change in resources such as equipment, manpower, technology, etc. Therefore, the process of change will always be expensive as it makes substantial demands on a budget of the organization and by extension, the entire department of justice.

The Correlation Between the Organization’s Mission, Vision and Goals and the Challenges Facing It

The vision of the FBI is to use integration, agility, and leadership to ensure that they remain ahead of threats to security (U.S. Department of Justice, n.d.). Their mission is to protect the citizens of the United States and to uphold the constitution (U.S. Department of Justice, n.d.).

Even though the focus of the FBI may be said to be protecting the nation against terrorist attacks, its goals may also be observed to ensuring the protection of the citizens of the nation while upholding the constitution and especially, the civil rights of every American citizen (U.S. Department of Justice, n.d.).

Correlation among the mission, vision, and goals of the organization happens on some fronts. Firstly, the organization’s vision of remaining agile to stay ahead of terrorist threats is highly related to the challenge of ever changing threats. Without agility, the organization cannot hope to change fast enough to respond to different security needs as and when they arise. Secondly, the vision of good leadership is essential for the operations of the FBI especially because of the changing nature of its operations. Such an organization does not only require good leaders but leaders who will also act as the champions for the change that is bound to take place. Also, the vision of ensuring protection to all the citizens of the United Stated is hinged firmly on the Bureau’s ability to provide pertinent, efficient and effective services to the citizens.

Goals to Address the Challenges

The first way in which the FBI can address the challenges above is by ensuring that it has funding for its activities. As it has been discussed above, change is expensive, and funds will always be required where the old system is being phased out for the new. In addition to the funds, the Bureau will also have to make sure that the staff is regularly trained and equipped to respond to changing threats. Therefore, it is crucial that the individuals who work for the Bureau are always kept up to date with the changes that are taking place in the area of security and that they are equipped with the right knowledge and skills to allow them to combat these threats successfully.

It is self-evident that this is also related to the first point in the sense that high level training will also require adequate funding to be dedicated to that purpose alone. Lastly, the Bureau should also seek to train all its employees, and not just those who are in positions of leadership, to be good change agents. The challenge of rapidly changing threats cannot be combated successfully if the people that are meant to address the threats cannot embrace and encourage others to accept the change.

Data and Resources Needed to Address the Challenges

About data, intelligence will be an important means through which the relevant data can be gathered and disseminated to the entire Bureau for informing all participants of the emerging threats. Relevant and up to date intelligence will provide the data that is necessary for the Bureau to organize and formulate the necessary strategy for combating changing threats. Information Technology will, therefore, have to be one of the important resources that are employed towards this end and which are heavily invested on by the Bureau.

Conclusion

In summary, it is evident that the challenge of changing threats is one of the most recurrent and pressing challenges that the FBI has to deal with in its day to day operations. The challenge is important because it directly affects how the bureau operates and whether or not it will be able to meet its vision, mission, and objectives. The discussion above also shows that the mission, vision, goals, and priorities of the FBI are intertwined intricately with the challenge of evolving threats. Also, it has been suggested that increasing the budget, investing on the training of employees and modeling change agents within the Bureau are some of how this challenge may be adequately prepared for and dealt with. Intelligence and information technology have also been pointed out as important resources that may determine the level of preparedness of the Bureau to deal with these threats. On the whole, agility emerges as one of the most important, relevant and central characteristics of the Bureau, without which its affairs would be crippled severely.