Organized Crime In The New Millennium

powerful but they "were part of a heterogeneous underworld, a network characterized
by complex webs of relationships." OC groups were violent and aimed at making money
but because of the lack of structure and fragmentation of objectives, they were
"disorganized".
Further studies showed neither bureaucracy nor kinship groups are the primary
structure of organized crime, rather they were in partnerships or a series of joint
business ventures. Despite these conclusions, all researchers observed a degree of
managerial activities among the groups they studied. All observed networks and a
degree of persistence, and there may be utility in focusing on the identification of
organizing roles of people and events rather than the group's structure. There may be
three main approaches to understand the organizations in terms of their roles as social
systems:
Organizations as Rational Systems: Highly formalized structures in terms of
bureaucracy’s and hierarchy, with formal systems of rules regarding authority
and highly specific goals;
Organizations as Natural Systems: Participants may regard the organization
as an end in itself, not merely a means to some other end. Promoting group
values to maintain solidarity is high on the agenda. They do not rely on profit
maximization. Their perversity and violence in respect of relationships is often
remarkable, but they are characterized by their focus on the connections
between their members, their associates and their victims; and,
Organizations as Open Systems: High levels of interdependence between
themselves and the environment in which they operate. There is no one way in
which they are organized or how they operate. They are adaptable and change
to meet the demands of their changing environments and circumstances.
Organized crime groups may be a combination of all three.
International Governance Approach
International consensus on defining organized crime has become important since the
1970s due its increased prevalence and impact. e.g., UN in 1976 and EU 1998. OC is
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