The Police Culture - Research Paper Example

The Police Culture Change – moving into the 21st century: discuss the changes that need to be made to bring police agencies into the 21st century in areas of technology, training, recruitment, selection, and mission, including obstacles to change inherent in organizations. The police system that already exists in the country is quite a rigorous one. It is also seen that the system is even idealized by many other countries that are willing to adopt it. The most important thing that makes any system an ideal one is the upholding of values and the rules that were laid down at the time of the inception of that organization. The current condition of the organization is that of a well established organization, but change is the only thing that is constant and, therefore, for the organization to continue its growth, it is important that the organization continues to evolve and change with time, so that the existence of the organization does not fall under question (Kotter, 1996). Change in the organization is a necessity for the organization to grow and evolve with time. When the change is implemented in any form in the organization, there is always a serious case of resistance. It is important for the organization to analyze the situation and counter the factors of resistance. Change is never welcome in the organization even when it is for the betterment of the organization. People fear change and that’s the main reason that they resist it. People usually are never communicated the reason for change, so in this case if the police force is not informed about the need for change they will simply feel it as an unnecessary step that is being taken. The result of this lack of proper awareness is that people fear the unknown. When there is no proper communication made to the police officers in question, police officers will obviously panic and they will feel that their right is being jeopardized and they will be at a loss as to what will be their situation. Even sometimes it has been seen that people may feel that they might not have the skills required by the change and, hence, they will become obsolete and let go. This is the constant fear that plagues the people who are undergoing the change; they fear that they will be laid off. People have a very low trust factor during the change process as well they feel that they are being deprived of their rights. Traditions and persistent cultures are very important for people in an organization, therefore, they are never willing to let go off it. Any change that is being brought without the people being properly informed about it they become skeptical of it and are never willing to allow it to be implemented. For the change to be successfully implemented and be incorporated into the organization, it is highly necessary that proper layout and strategies for the change to be communicated to the people who will be facing the tune. They should be informed what the change will be and adequately informed about the plan of action to be taken. It is necessary for the change to be implemented to have all the members on board so the resistance is under control. Technology: Technology is a very important factor for any organization to become successful. Although technology is used quite a lot by the police department but a better way would be to have it completely integrated into the existing system. Currently there are few people who know how to use the technology. But the best thing would be to have training for the technological awareness creation in the department. There will be a bit of resistance at the start by some old employees who might believe that the manual system is far better as compared to the new computerized one. Today there are only computerized data available at the main police stations, and when smaller police stations need verification they have to send their data over to those stations. They can also establish a country wide database that has all the records and is even connected with the social council so that by just entering the social security number the whole of the record comes up, this will link up even the remote police stations with the major ones and help reduce crimes (Kotter, 1996). Training: Training is a very important aspect for any organization to continue to progress. Training need analysis is a very vital function of HR as it helps the organization realize the areas where they require some sort of innovation or change. It is very necessary to have the conduction of the need analysis by some expert who realizes the weak points in the system. Adequate training should be made. Training with reference to security measures can be done through simulation exercises. This can train the policemen for adverse situations. It is worth remembering that future is intrinsically unforeseeable. Even the best-laid plans may fail because of unpredicted contingencies that occur all the time. Scenario planning is a strategic management technique which is based on the realization of the foregoing assumption. Thus, a company should develop plans for not only one future, but for a number of probable futures. Scenario planning implies formulating plans that are premised on ‘what if’ future scenarios. Some scenarios tend to be more optimistic and others are pessimistic. Specific strategies are developed in order to cope with each scenario. Purchasing a simulator is quite expensive, therefore, they can have it installed in the center for training, and different stations can use it on a pre-planned schedule. They can also have cross-training, in which they can have employees from other law enforcing agencies for cross training, this can help on diversifying the training the officers have in a far more economical way. People at first may feel that they are in no need for the training as the training is for the inadequate or the ill equipped. There may result higher resistance if individuals are singled out for training. The best way is to group the individuals in teams and make them undergo training. The clerical staff can be trained for the use of technology in the daily use (Cameroon & Green, 2009). Recruitment & Selection: The policies and procedures of any firm that are designed by HR department are very crucial part of the business. When the company designs the policy and procedure of the organization, it is very important that they should do so by keeping the goals and objectives of the firm in their view. When a strategy of any company is designed, when there is no clear vision or awareness of goal in mind, then the firm will definitely suffer because of lack of clarity in the vision. The procedures and policies that are defined by a company are those that help the company to reach its long term goals. Recruitment and Selection is a “THE” most important function for any organization. Hiring the right kind of people for any organization is very important. When right kinds of people are hired in an organization, it is bound to succeed as the right mix of people will design the right strategy and proper goals and missions. In this case, the police department will have to look for people who are diligent, hardworking and are physically and medically fit. They can introduce assessment centers for their hiring process. Since it is more of a behavior based job, more reliance should be on the behavior based competencies. They can have physical camps held on ground after assessment centers to assess the candidates about their physical well-being. As for hiring personnel for higher and more strategic posts, they can even look for some sort of qualification related to management so that the person has physical well being, as well as prior management skills, to help decide and plan raids or similar strategic actions (Harvey & Broyles, 2010). Using a promotion system within the department for higher posts is also a very good idea. This way a greater sense of competition is induced in the department and, hence, it can even be a better way for getting the best candidate and increasing performance. Resistance to change would not be a new thing. Any new organization that goes through change will have to face it. The best way to overcome the obstacles posed by change is to simply portray the whole process of change and ensure people that change will be for their betterment. The change should be clearly briefed to the heads in the first place and they should be proactive in promoting the change process. If the organisation wants to implement the change process successfully, then it is vital that the change process is brought top-down, instead of bottom-up. Involvement of higher management level will encourage employees and ensure that the changes will be beneficial for the organisation and may entail career growth for them as well (Cummings & Worley, 2009) References Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2009).Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the models, tools & techniques of organizational change. London: Kogan Page. Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2009).Organization development & change. Australia: South-Western/Cengage Learning. Fogelson, R. M. (1977). Big-city police. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. Harvey, T. R., & Broyles, E. A. (2010).Resistance to change: A guide to harnessing its positive power. Lanham, Md: Rowman& Littlefield Education. Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading change. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press Read More