The two types of organizations are dissimilar with some basic differences including that the patron-client members make the choice of breaking the law whereas the bureaucratic organizations are those that are impose it. Despite the fact that there exist a variety of differences in the two organizations, there are some similarities that they share.
The patron model is headed by a single individual who can be considered as the boss. The organization is made up of ‘families’ that have a tight union and they show trust and loyalty to each other. The task of the chief is to provide financial aid and protection of the client and in return the client shows appreciation by executing some tasks that are ordered by the patron. The patron resources in the business and are responsible for setting meetings for the client. The boss makes the income through interacting with other individuals that are involved in the same criminal activities such as traffic of drugs and laundering of money. A particular geographic section is conquered by the patron and his organization. The patron has informants in the police so as to help them escape getting caught. An example of a patrimonial organization is the mafia.
In comparison to the patron-client mode of operation, the bureaucratic organization is run in similar ways as cooperations are run in that there are CEOs at the top trickling down to the workers. Unlike the patron-client model, the bureaucratic organization deals with large scale criminal activities and maintains members of a certain group who are not required to be closely related but they establish close relations. With a diversified labor category, orders are carried out in impersonally in that they come from the top and are handed down to the lower leaders to carry them out. Every member has their duties in the business after being recruited on the basis of their skills. Rules and regulations are developed when the organization grows in size and with the violation of the rules an affiliate is eliminated.
The similarities in the two organizations include generating profits as the main objective and that the two models are designed in a way that there is a person who is in charge and is responsible for the success of the organization.
The main purpose of understanding these organizational model is for the benefit of law enforcement society, researchers, criminologists and professionals so as to get an understanding as to how this criminal organization develop locally and internationally. The models are tools that can be used so as to offer a detailed explanation as to why individuals engage in illegal activities, how these criminal organizations start up and why most of these organizations are successful as well as hard to eliminate.