Service Quality and Performance - the UAE Police Community - Case Study Example

Service quality and performance a case study of UAE Police Community of Service quality and performance a case study of UAE Police Community Literature Review Introduction The section of the report reviews past literature related to the prose topic. The methodological method has been opted to conduct the literature review for this study. The researcher has selected past researcher to investigate to determine the impacts of service quality of UAE Police community as its performance measures. Therefore, the researchers have been reviewed in context to identify the impact of service quality of UAE police community on its policemen and community performance. The researcher reviews of the performance measures, achievements and awards of UAE police community in order to construct a theoretical framework for the study. UAE Community Police The department of UAE community police was established in 2003 by General HH Sheikh Saf bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. It began its operations in 2005 and has constantly expanded its operation to improve the performance and prevent crime in the community. The main objective of the Community Police is to act as an alternative to the policing system to prevent crime and spread security awareness. UAE community police is an active member of social programs and is constantly engaged to strengthen its relation with public communities. Community Police’s of UAE has more than 500 officers employed (Statistics 2010). However, the number of incidents and crimes has doubled as compared to last year. The statistics reveal that the UAE community police are currently handling more than 2,894 traffic incidents, 2033 social disputes, and 6958 other crimes. UAE Community Police is constantly engaged to improve its over performance measuring by providing training to its officers and improving its service quality. The crime rates and performance of the organization have significantly improved crime rates. In 2008, A United Nations delegation applauded the UAE’s community police as a role model because of its magnificent service performance (COMTEX News Network, 2008). Community police of UAE have been rewarded for the effective adaptation of the technology and innovation in its operational practices. UAE Community Police is recognized as a pioneer to win excellence because of its cultural and technological advancement (Hulooka, 2013). Community Police and Employee Performance The service quality of a public organization is a crucial determinant of the performance measures. In terms of Community Police Agencies, it is essential for the organizations to ensure the service quality of the agency is appropriately delivered in to sustain its efficiency. Andre & Walle (2012) analyze strategic management decisions of European Community Police in relation to new public management practices to assess citizen’s perception regarding the service efficiency, responsiveness, equity and effectiveness in local communities (Andre & Walle, 2012). The findings of the study revealed that the entrepreneurial strategic orientation of the organization significantly impacts service efficiency, responsiveness, equity and effectiveness of police organizations. However, variation in the results with respect to public management practices and performance measure of the community is evident because of different socio-economic scenarios (Andre & Walle, 2012). Furthermore, Hulooka (2013) conducted a study to determine the practices of police forces. The study highlights that the technology transfer is one of the effective ways for police agencies to improve communication and interactions within the department that facilitates the agencies to efficiently operate. The findings of the study show that Dubai Police make use of effective and precise measure of operations to perform its duties and function that allows community police department to strategically plan and efficiently manage human and financial resources that have overall strengthened partnership, innovation, personal and teamwork in Community Police Department (Hulooka, 2013). Walumbwa, Peterson & Avolio (2010) argue that the management and leadership of police department greatly impact the overall job performance of the officers that collectively improves overall services of police departments. The researcher investigated the relationship between the leader and followers (police followers on service climate and job performance using hierarchical linear modeling. The outcomes of the study indicated that there is a positive relation between police and follower performance. The leader positively influenced psychological capital performance when the service climate is moderate. However, interactivity and communication of the leaders with the police followers is the main element that positively predicts the performance of police officers (Walumbwa, Peterson, & Avolio, 2010). From, this study it can be determined that the leadership greatly influenced job performance of officers followers. Community Police and Community The service quality of Community Police directly influences security and crime level in the society. The prior agenda of community police is to assess and analyze service quality of police to gain trust, confidence and improve security in the society. Bradford & Myhill (2012) identify the performance determining service quality of community police in England and Wales. With the increasing crimes and security dilemma, community police are persuaded to improve overall performance by focusing on its service quality. In the study, the relationship between citizen’s satisfactions with the police contacts is determined by improving its service quality as a measure to improve trust and confidence. In the similar manner, the findings of the study Tyler and Faga (2008) and Gau (2010) reveal that the communication is the main element that can contribute to overcoming the barriers for the community police (Gau, 2010; Tyler, 2008). It is also suggested that the satisfactory handling of citizen-imitated contacts can contribute to improving wider confidence in the police (Bradford & Myhill, 2012). It is also evident from the findings of the study that the public wants to have a police service that is inclined to treat people with fairness, dignity and respect. These aspects significantly contribute to improving public confidence and improve security measures. In the other study, conducted by Gau (2010) highlights that police officers are inclined to treat people in a fair and respectful manner as it is the main determinant of performance that can be attained by public cooperation (Gau, 2010). The community policing is a strategy followed globally to support the respective communities. This strategy is largely known as the Public Management; it helps to manage the group of people living in a state or region and also help develop the sense of safety in the minds of the general public. Hoque, Arends and Alexander (2004) studied the trend of such strategy (public management) in the Australian perspective. The study was designed to gather the information regarding the accountability and the use of performance appraisal systems utilized and adopted in the community policing and the overall Australian police services. The identification of the accountability framework and also the information regarding the evaluation of the police services was the basic aim of the study. The researchers analyzed the policies used at the police station regarding the accountability of the officers and the performance evaluation techniques and tools used in a specific police station. The research results revealed that the Australian police department had focused on some very rigid policies related to the accountability of their operation and the police station carried out their evaluation procedures very often. The community policing, and the general police department was working effectively and it was further noted that the Public Management has increased in the Australian Police. The adoption of such Management systems lead to a better monitoring and control of the citizens and also helped in developing the efficiency of resource utilization and allocation (Hoque, Arends, & Alexander, 2004). The importance of the way in which police personals interact with the people is recognized all over the world. Many researchers have done studies to find out the importance and impact of the communication between the citizens and the police personals. National Institute of Justice published an article in which Rosenbaum, Schuck, Lawrence and Hartnett and others (2011) to gather the information regarding the Public Satisfaction of the police services. The residents were asked about their interactions with the police personals the survey was designed by the teams. The core objectives of the survey were to gather the information regarding the encounters of the police and citizens. These results could be used as benchmarks in the local and regional level. The other important part of the survey that was the police-civilian feedback/ encounters, these were designed in a way that would help the authorities to identify the performances of the police force. The feedback was to be used by the authorities to make further improvements, and such improvements would result in building better and smarter ways of learning for the police department on the whole. Finally, the study was helpful for the citizens to raise their voices on issues they felt that must be focused on the police departments and other legal authorities. The authors also proclaimed that the community policing must be focused on fulfilling the needs and expectations of the public. The basic issues that are needed to be focused (according to the authors) are to reduce the crime rates and the treat the citizens fairly and to respect their emotions. The author also mentioned the need and importance of the accountability procedures that must be adopted by the police department (related to the behavior). The authors described the possible ways that would be beneficial for improving the behavior of the police personals. The results of the study illustrated the Public satisfaction can be gained by following the new and upgraded surveys regarding the community inputs. These inputs would help the community policing to identify the main issues and try to control and improve the operations so that the issues can be minimized or avoided completely. This survey will lead to developing trust in the minds of the residents and will create an improved relationship among the police-civilian encounters. The police department and other authorities were suggested to create partnerships with the universities so that the university students can design the surveys that will be distributed to the general public at large. This will lead to improvements in the general lifestyle and safety improvements in the future. The results of the study were also helpful in explaining the experience of the civilians, the person who encounter feels that he should be heard and the treatment must be fair and respectful. Based on the results the researchers suggested the authorities and police department to design and promote training and development programs so that the officers are trained in the best professional way of engaging with a civilian. The researchers analyzed and explained the importance of the "Platforms Public Satisfaction Survey" and also explained the possible ways of utilizing the resource to improve the relationship of the police personnel and the civilian of any particular region (Rosenbaum, et al., 2011). The need to improve and enhance the quality of the services provided by the police department were always been considered by the authorities of the State. The department was in need to be designed in a way that help to enhance the processes related to solving the issues of the general public, the community service engagement was also considered to be one of the most crucial activity of the community policing. Rosenbaum, Schuck, Graziano and Stephens (2007) studied the importance and impact of the web-based survey strategies and its implementation on the policing department of the region. The researchers were keen to observe the impact of web-based surveys and the possibilities to improve the problem solving process, its impact on the increase in community engagement and also to observe the possible effects of such web based surveys in strengthening the relationships between the police and the community at large. The results of the research indicated that the new mediums used for the survey strategy (web-based survey) proved to be a helpful in gathering a greater level of citizen participation. This new medium will help to improve the police community partnerships and also result in better safety measures for the residents. The researchers explained the importance of the feedback of the civilians and also suggested that these surveys must be used in other parts of the world. The participation of the civilians helps in developing their awareness and trust in the police department and specific the community police (Rosenbaum, Schuck, Graziano, & Stephens, 2007). Conclusion The overall literature identifies several of factors that influence service quality and performance of community policies. The service quality of community police is dependent on the performance of its employees (police officers) that is mainly affected by leadership, technology innovation, partnership, teamwork, equipment, and communication. On the other hand, the performance of police officer and community is influenced by the trust, fairness, dignity, cooperation and communication. Themes References Justification Strategic Orientation (Andre & Walle, 2012) (Hoque, Arends, & Alexander, 2004). Tells about the impact of strategic orientation and management practices on performance of police officers Innovative Technology (COMTEX News Network, 2008) (Hulooka, 2013) The use of innovative technology and equipments and its impact on service quality Teamwork (Hulooka, 2013) Impact of working on employee performance Interactivity and Communication (Gau, 2010) (Walumbwa, Peterson, & Avolio, 2010) (Rosenbaum D. P., et al., 2011) Interactivity and communication within the organization as a mean to improve overall efficiency Leadership (Walumbwa, Peterson, & Avolio, 2010) Leadership impact on employee performance Public Cooperation (Gau, 2010) Public cooperation as a mean to improve community Fairness (Tyler, 2008) (Rosenbaum D. P., et al., 2011) Treatment of community police with fairness and its impacts on community confidence Management Systems (Hoque, Arends, & Alexander, 2004) Describes the use of Management systems and its importance in management of the group of people in a community Trust (Rosenbaum D. P., et al., 2011) The study described the level of trust in the minds of the citizens due to the increased participation. Trainings and Development (Rosenbaum D. P., et al., 2011) The study determines the effects of trainings and development of the police personals to improve the overall quality of performance Awareness (Rosenbaum D. P., Schuck, Graziano, & Stephens, 2007) The citizens must be aware of their position and importance in the community Discussion The section of the report provides brief discusses based on the findings obtained from primary information. Since, the study is based on qualitative research thematic analysis is used to interpret responses. The literature review and responses to the interviews are put forward to form discussion. The service quality of UAE community police is influenced by several factors. Since, Community Police is a service providing organization and is labor extensive. The performance of each of police office significantly contributes to defining overall performance level of the organization. Therefore, the researcher interviewed UAE police officer and UAE citizen to determine the service quality of UAE Community Police. The response of participant 1 revealed that motivation among the police officer is the core element to improve performance measure of the individuals. One of the respondents stated that the appreciation, acknowledgment, and leaders are the main factors that keep us motivated at work. It can be noted that the non-monetary aspect for police officers is the crucial factor for the motivational level of the officers. In the similar manner, Hulooka (2013) and Walumbwa, Peterson & Avoilo (2013) in the study show that the leadership, management, and teamwork allow the police officers to work efficiently (Hulooka, 2013; Walumbwa, Peterson, & Avolio, 2010). In addition, it was also evident from the studies that the strategic orientation and management practices of the community police plays a major role to improve overall the performance of community police officers. It can be noted that the efficiency of the community department is dependent on the strategic decisions that are taken by the heads of the departments. The respondent states ‘strategy is all that matters. It can be identified from the response that the strategy of the individual highly influences the performance of officers at work. However, less importance to the management is given. It can be determined from one of the respondent’s answer when he replied ‘strategy is actually what measures the efficiency of police department, as our work is in the field where strategies predominant that often suppress the existence of management’. Hence, it can be noted from the statement of the respondents that the strategies of the community police officer is the major aspect that influenced overall performance measure of the police departments. Further, the respondents were asked if the innovative technology and equipment that are provided to the police officers contributes to improving service quality of employees. In terms of UAE Community police, it can be identified that the innovation technology has played a major role to improve security measures for the community police departments (COMTEX News Network, 2008). However, the respondent’s perception varied, as he replied ‘that improved equipment and technology contributes in the controlling and monitoring activities taking place in the society. It can be supported by the studies of Gau, 2010; Walumbwa, Peterson, & Avolio, 2010; Rosenbaum, Schuck, Graziano, & Stephens, 2007 in which the use of technology has been stressed to improve overall performance measure of community police. It can be identified that the use of technology is mainly associated to improve interactivity and communication between the departments as well as between the team members. In addition, the responses indicate that the community police department is inclined to improve communication within the departments using technology systems. Moreover, it was also identified that the community police officers seek to strengthen communication with the public and seek their assistance and corporation to improve security and protection measures. Furthermore, the community police performance in relation to the community is identified as a determinate of service quality of UAE community police. Therefore, the citizens were also interviewed in order to determine the quality of services provided by UAE police. Respondents were asked if they were satisfied with the performance of UAE community police to which one of the respondent replied that the ‘UAE community police is doing a tremendous job, however the increase in the crime rate is one of the major issues that needs to be assessed’. It can be noted from the response of the interview that the public seems overall satisfied of the performance of UAE community. The statistics indicate that UAE’s community police performance has significantly improved with the new innovative technology adaption in its operations (COMTEX News Network, 2008). Moreover, the respondents were asked about the opinion if the technology used by the UAE police community needs to improve. One of the respondents stated that the I believe it is a good thing to make use of technology, but I believe that the security and protection are the most important aspect that matters to a citizen. These things are too technical to answer. It can be noted from the responses that the use of technology did not have a significant impact to gain the satisfaction of public as they are more concerned about their security and protection. It can be supported by the study of Rosenbaum et al. (2011) in which the citizen felt satisfied more when the police department were able to strengthen protection measures (Rosenbaum et al., 2011). Therefore, the crime control and prevention techniques do not contribute to gain the satisfaction of the citizen. Therefore, the researcher interviewed and asked if which were the main factors that the public seeks assistance from community police and if there are any expectation from the community police. The responses obtained indicated that the citizens expect community police to provide fair treatment and gain the trust of public. In addition, the awareness about the security and prevention measures are expected by the public so that they are aware of taking necessary step in times of issues. In addition, it was also evident from the response that the communication with the community is prior aspect the needs to be improved to enhance overall performance measure of UAE’s community police’s service quality. The study of Tyler, 2008; Rosenbaum D. P., et al., 2011; Rosenbaum D. P., Schuck, Graziano, & Stephens, 2007 highlights public wants to have a police service that is inclined to treat people with fairness, dignity and respect. These aspects significantly contribute to improving public confidence and improve security measures. (Tyler, 2008; Rosenbaum D. P., et al., 2011; Rosenbaum, Schuck, Graziano, & Stephens, 2007) Recommendation The study was analyzed using the literature published in journal articles all over the world. The literature analysis explained many crucial factors that must be focused in order to improve the quality of services provided by the Community Police of the region. Based on the factors identified in the literature review the researcher will provide some recommendations that will be beneficial to enhance the service quality and also the perception of community policing in the minds of the general public. • The community police must adopt strategic orientation; these strategies would be beneficial to implement more value-oriented services to the citizens of the region. The strategies must be designed after the thorough study of the needs and wants of the citizens, the environment study must be done using the survey strategy that can be manual of web-based surveys. The current strategies must be reformulated and redesigned in accordance with the needs and demands of the civilians. • The community police must also be provided with the latest technologies that are beneficial for working in a more effective and efficient manner. Using the latest technologies will also increase the service quality of the personals. The police department and the army must have the same tools, and this will accelerate their personal performance and will lead to the overall increase in the performance of the community police. • Developing effective teams can enhance the performance of the community policing, the teams must work in support of the police department and will, therefore, result in the better and efficient operation. The teamwork activities must also be introduced within the departments so that the workers understand the importance and impacts of such characteristics. The main objective of adopting teamwork activities is to enhance the employee performance. • The police department must also focus on providing their officers with specialized and general training regarding the interactions and communications. The police personals must be provided training to tackle any crucial and critical condition. The researchers all over the world have identified the communication as the most important factor that must be concentrated. The police-civilian encounters mostly make the perceptions of the civilians, and the police force must train their staff and workforce to interact in a professional and respectable manner. The people mostly think that they should be heard and respected while having an encounter with the police personal. If the police personals interact with patience and in a more professional manner the residents will have positive perceptions about them and will be helpful in developing trust in the relation of the police and civilians. • The police authorities must also focus on providing training regarding the behaviors of the police personals. Leadership qualities and behaviors must be at the top of the priority list. • Lastly the community members and the public at large must be given the chance to participate in the operations, and proper feedbacks must be collected from the civilians. Such feedbacks will be helpful to improve the current services and activities of the police department. Conclusion The study reveals that the service quality of UAE Community police is influenced by several factors. However, the performance of police officers directly impacts the overall performance of UAE community police. The findings reveal that the communication, innovation technology, strategic orientation, teamwork, and leadership significantly impacts the performance of police officers. On the other hand, the public is inclined to seek improvement in term of fair treatment, dignity and respect. Hence, the strategies of the community police are developed assessing both of the aspects to ensure the level of service delivered. Appendix Interview Question For the police officer As a police officer what are the main factors you believe boost your performance and enthusiasm at work? Do you think it is the strategy and management that matters the most? Explain why? Do you think providing adequate equipments and technology make you grasp the issue and improves communication within the departments? You prefer working in teams more or independently to deal with the cases? Which is more effective? What you think of importance of communication in your field? Would you mark public initiated communication a better option to solve the case? What are the major communication barriers at work? Give suggestion for improving it. For community Are you satisfied of the performance of UAE community police? Do you think the police is making good efforts to improve its performance? Are you satisfied of the crime control and prevention methods and techniques that are opted by the UAE community police? What matters the most for you or you expect from the community police to assess with? Are you more concerned of the fair treatment of the community police or innovative means? References Andre, R., & Walle, S. V. (2012). New Public Management and Citizens perceptions of local servic efficiency, responsiveness, equity and effectiveness. New York: COCOPS. Bradford, B., & Myhill, A. (2012). Can police enhance public confidence by improving quality of service? Results from two surveys in England and Wales. Policing and Society: An International Journal of Research and Policy, 22(4), 397-425. COMTEX News Network. (2008). UAE: UN Selects Abu Dhabi Community Police As Role Model. Dubai: Qatari News Agency. Gau, J. (2010). A Longitudinal analysis of citizens attitudes about the police. An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 236-252. Hoque, Z., Arends, S., & Alexander, R. (2004). Policing the police service: A case study of the rise of “new public management” within an Australian police service. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 17(1), 59 - 84. Hulooka, H. M. (2013). Transfer and Adoption of Best Practice in Innovation in Dubai Police Force. Dubai: Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University. Rosenbaum, D. P., Schuck, A. M., Graziano, L. M., & Stephens, S. C. (2007). Measuring police and community performance using web-based surveys: findings from the chicago internet project. New York: U.S. Department of Justice. Rosenbaum, D. P., Schuck, A., Lawrence, D., Hartnett, S., McDevit, J., & Posick, C. (2011). Community-based Indicators of Police Performance: Introducing the Platform’s Public Satisfaction Survey. National Police Research Platform, 1-10. Tyler, T. (2008). Enhancing police legitimcy. The annuals of American Academy, 57, 375-400. Walumbwa, F., Peterson, S. J., & Avolio, B. J. (2010). An Investigation of the relationship among leader and follower psychological capital, service climate and job performance. Personnel Psychology, 937-963. Read More