Security Roles in an Organization - Research Paper Example

? and number: Project Security Roles in an Organization SECURITY ROLES IN AN ORGANIZATION Introduction The nature and quantum of an organization’s asset goes a long way to determine the trend of growth and development that will be achieved by that organization. This is because several internal and external management decisions that are taken about an organization are taken with the size of the organization’s asset into consideration (Hung, Chang and Yu, 2006). Typical example of this is in the case of acquisition and merger where prospective investors would want to know the economic viability of the company before they do business with them. It is for this reason that the protection of an organization’s asset is very relevant for the growth and development of the organizations. For most organizations, there are specialized departments and units that take care of the management of their assets. Protection of asset is however seen in most contexts as a security issue and so its management and for that matter protection is left in the care of competent security professionals. In this paper, the results gathered from an interview with security personnel on the role security plays in protecting an organization’s assets are discussed. Professional responsibilities of security directors One of the major aspects of the interview touched on the roles that various security professionals play in the organizations. With a specific emphasis on the security director, it was realized that the role that the security plays in the organization is multi-variant. What this means is that the security director’s role cuts across several aspects of the organization’s asset management. Generally, the security director is expected to protect two major types of asset, namely tangible and intangible assets (Kolsaker and Lee-Kelley, 2008). Tangible assets are those types of assets that can be touched and seen such as vehicles, money, buildings, machinery, computers, manufactured products, and others. Intangible assets are those assets that cannot be seen or touched. These include database, copyright property, human capital, talent pipeline, organizational strategy, among others. As part of protection, the security director is mandated to prevent loss. This means that the security director is obliged to ensure that the quantitative value of the company’s asset will either remain same or they will appreciate. Under no justifiable condition should there be a reduction. To make this position, investigations and other administrative and managerial functions are required. In effect, the security director uses a preventive approach to protection so that losses will not occur before means of retrieving losses would even be talked about. Critical skills required for security personnel Having noted the depth of responsibility that the security director and for that matter security had in protecting the asset of the organization, the question of critical skills required for the execution of the roles were asked. It would be noted that the rendering of security service is seen as a professional duty and so comes with some well defined skills and knowledge that a person ought to possess in order to function effectively in that duty (Gray, 2004). The interviewee thus stressed that, observational skills, critical thinking skills, organizational skills, self control, innovativeness, being visionary, and interpersonal relationship were all skills that were needed for a person to function actively. From the skills that were named by the interviewee, there were three major categorizations that could be given to them. The first of these is personal development skills; second is group development skills; and third is organization development skills. In effect, the critical skills required for a security coordinator to succeed should be ones that make the coordinator proactive as a person, gives him the ability to work effectively in a team, and finally take the holistic skill of functioning according to the mission of the organization’s security goals. Use of internal and external relationships To ensure the maximum protection of the asset of the organization through security, it was stressed by the interview that the security department did not have to limit themselves with their options in anyway. In terms of stakeholder base also, it was important to realize the need to work with as many stakeholders as possible. This is because security is about the gathering of intelligence and as far as intelligence gathering is concerned, every other person is a potential source of information (Kirschner et al, 2002). This assertion bring to fore the importance of internal and external relationships to fulfill the security department’s mission. Internally, it is important to ensure that there is a database on all identified assets and that on a constant basis, these assets are monitored for their entry and exit usage. It is also important to train and equip all employees within the organization, whether they have security background or not to be able to place some little amount of role in ensuring that the protection of assets is maximized. In effect, an internal relationship that sees security as everybody’s business must be created. Externally, was said that there is the importance to link up with all stakeholders of security who will be useful in providing resources and information on the assets of the organization. broad spectrum of activities in which security operatives involve themselves to protect an organization's assets. The concluding aspects of the interview with the security officer sought to find from him some of the broad spectrum of activism that security operatives involve themselves in as way of protecting an organization’s assets. Though a much generalized spectrum of activities were expected, the interviewee simplified the activities into just three key themes namely intelligence, surveillance and monitoring. According to him with these, all other specific activities were covered. He exampled that intelligence involved the gathering of information and data that were necessary in signaling to them any potential risks that they could face terms of losses with any of the organisation’s assets. Indeed, this was undertaken on a much secretive basis so that crime and attempts of theft on assets could be identified before they happened. Surveillance involved all practices and activities that ensured that there was a physical presence created on the asset by ensuring that all assets were at every point in time under the watch of the security department. Monitoring was put in place as a checking and assessment system for the effectiveness of the security department’s functions. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be said that the role of the security of any organization in the protection of the assets of that organization is an important part of the organizational lifecycle. Clearly, in the absence of assets, an organization cannot be said to be credible. As outline in the discussions above therefore, it is important that organizations continue to invest in the empowerment of their security departments so that the logistics, resources and motivation needed by them to go about their roles effectively can be provided. Among other things, the recruitment and placement of personnel into security positions must be approached with all the carefulness it desires. Organizations must ensure that all necessary skills, knowledge and competences outlined by the interviewee are exhibited by the candidates who will eventually be selected to take charge of the security affairs of the organizations. REFERENCE LIST Gray, D. E. (2004). Doing Research in the Real World. London: SAGE Publications. Hung, S.-Y., Chang, C.-M. & Yu, T.-J. (2006). Determinants of user acceptance of the e-Government services: The case of online tax filing and payment system, Government Information Quarterly, 23(3), pp. 97–122. Kirschner, P.A.; Buckingham Shum, S.J. and Carr, S.C.; (2002) Visualizing Argumentation – Software Tools for Collaborative and Educational Sensemaking. Springer. Kolsaker, A. & Lee-Kelley, L. (2008). Citizens' attitudes towards e-government and e-governance: A UK study', International Journal of Public Sector Management, 21(7), pp. 723-38. Read More