Department of Central Operations - Assignment Example

Name Department of Central Operations 19 May 2008 Department of Central Operations To inculcate efficiency in modern organizations and institutions demands a highly specialized approach in all spheres and aspects of their functioning. The biggest challenge before the organizations in the 21st century is to deal with their human resources in a way that optimizes success. It is infact more of a balancing act where conflicting human aspirations need to be mixed to create a right blend so as to get accurate results. The desire for individual achievement and recognition is to be balanced with the need for teamwork and coordination. Ingenuity and spontaneity have to be allowed while fulfilling the vital requirement for training and skill enhancement. Original thinking has to be accommodated while looking for the ways to enhance interpersonal communication. Respect for authority and discipline needs to be inculcated, but not at the risk of compromising on employee motivation and appreciation. Achievements have to be awarded, without encouraging the quest for selfish heroism and shallow ambition. Leadership has to exhibited without any deterioration into authoritarianism and hero worship. Organizations and old work culture Pre World War II organizational set ups mostly adhered to a strict hierarchical chain of command where important decisions were taken by a few individuals at the top. The operational briefs were conveyed to the junior employees, with no scope for dissent. The staff members in such set ups mostly happened to be of a homogeneous ethnicity. Such a work culture encouraged hero worship. It was strongly believed that the fate of any mission depended on the grit and courage of a few exceptional individuals. The rest of the staff members were considered to be mere pawns, which were willing to tow the line of a few self motivated personalities. Such a mindset is no more relevant in the contemporary scenario. The present age is the age of specialization where the success of any endeavour mostly relies on a close coordination and cooperation between a number of talented individuals with variegated skills and temperaments. The modern urban reality is to complex to be grasped by a single individual. A team approach brings in a conducive synergy into a group environment that enhances the overall impact of the individual talent of each of the team members. Department of Central Operations The department of Central Operations was constituted in 1966, as a direct response to the brutal shooting of three plain clothes police officers by a gang of armed robbers (Introduction to CO19, 2008) . Its initial responsibility was to train police officers in the use of firearms and safe tactics. However, with the passage of time, this department has evolved to be a full fledged armed wing that aids and helps the police officers in the London Metropolitan Police Area. It is a highly specialized branch of the Metropolitan Police Services that offers a fire armed backed support to the unarmed police officers. The Department of Central Operations comprises of a select group of well trained and motivated police officers that specialize in dealing with all aspects of the criminal use of firearms. Modern urban combat is a very complex phenomenon. Like military warfare, it does not involve well demarcated battle fields with two well identified adversaries. The sleuths at CO19 are often called to tackle critical situations which involve armed criminals interspersed amidst common people. An apt response to such a critical situation calls for a team approach, immaculate organizational management, creative leadership and highly motivated cops. The CO19 is a highly motivated, legal and organized response to the gruesome reality of the modern urban crime. Like any other modern organization, it needs all the tact and finesse facilitated by up to date management and human resource courses. The Department of Central Operations is managed and conducted on the basis of the latest management concepts and human resource doctrines. Need for organisational management, team work and communication at the Department of Central Operations The Department of Central Operations is the Metropolitan Police Service’s only shield of defence against any armed assault by criminals and unscrupulous elements. The role of the CO19 is to stabilise and control armed incidents, stop and search suspects, their vehicles and to search premises for armed suspects. The officers of the CO19 are required to reach the scenes of crime and neutralize the armed criminals while protecting and safeguarding the police officers and common people. Many a times they are required to deal with unsuspecting common people who themselves are under duress and are confused. Such a daunting task involving preservation and protection of human life demands faultless management, sharp communication and close coordination. CO19 and the personality of its officers The personality of the officers at CO19 is an important aspect of the organisational set up. As C019 officers are mostly required to deal with the life and death situations, the mindset of the officers involved needs to be well balanced and alert. The officers selected should be able to work in a close coordination with their colleagues, Metropolitan Police Service and other civil authorities. Most of the times what is stake is human life. Hence CO19 follows an exhaustive recruitment procedure where potential recruits are selected on a wide range of parameters to ensure the best possible workforce. Stringent physical and psychological tests are conducted to ensure that the selected recruits have just the right personality required for this job. The use of firearms by police services in a European context is a serious affair and all due precaution is taken to select the officers with just the right personality, who are apt in interpersonal communication, threat perception and risk management. Training at The Department of Central Operations Right training of all the personnel is an important aspect of CO19 and the organisation conducts a wide range of courses to ensure optimal and appropriate training for all its officers. At CO19, training and learning is considered to be a life long process in which the right organisational values are taught and reinforced on a regular basis. Some of the courses conducted by CO19 are: Initial firearms course Armed response vehicle course Specialized firearms officers course National firearms instructors course Tactical refreshers for all the authorized firearms officers Firearms incident command training Other courses which all the officers have to undergo from time to time The objective of the training at CO19 is to equip the officers with all the necessary skills, theories and values required to be an authorized and dependable firearms officer. The officers are not only given exhaustive training in the usage of a variety of firearms, but students are also exposed to simulated situations on a regular basis where they learn to react and respond to such incidents in a near life like situation. The objective is to train the officers in the tactical use of firearms in a team scenario. Training at CO19 is a continuous process and even the most experienced of officers have to undergo reinforcement and skill enhancement procedures on a regular basis. The challenges that a CO19 officer may have to face can range from hostage rescue, rapid entry into premises where firearms are involved, plain cloths support to other departments and maritime operations. Team response within C019 The officers of the CO19 are required to extend specialist firearms support to Metropolitan Police Services. Thus they have to always work as a close knit team. The mechanism of information sharing and input enhancement within a team is always very flexible and meticulous. Each of the officers in a team is assigned a role according to ones temperament and aptitude. Care is taken that all the members in a team are satisfied with their specific roles and also with the roles of their fellow colleagues. Each armed response vehicle at CO19 has a crew of three officers who petrol the allocated areas of London to ensure optimal response in the hour of need. Each of the three team members is assigned a specific role. The ‘driver’ is expected to transport the entire team to the scene of crime in the fastest possible time while give due consideration to the safety of ordinary people and traffic rules. The ‘operator’ conducts the in-car communications and tries to gather maximum information pertaining to the situation under consideration, before the actual operation begins. The ‘observer’ is placed in the rear of the vehicle and extends navigational help to the driver with the aid of a London map book. Once a team reaches the scene of crime, the specific roles of all the team members’ undergo a change. In case of an armed containment, one officer is deployed to control the incident while the other two team members try to procure further backup support and the requisite equipment. During the entire procedure, the CO19 team is expected to liaise with the local senior police officials and other civil authorities. The CO19 officers are required to respect the people of London without giving any consideration to their differences and cultural background. They are also expected to extend due respect to all their team members and officers of the Metropolitan Police Services. Communication at the Department of Central Operations Communication plays an important role in all the CO19 operations. All the officers are informed in advance about the nature of conflict that they are expected to handle and ample and continuous feedback is given to ensure an apt response (Walinskas, 2005). It is ensured that the CO19 team members have enough information pertaining to the scene of crime and they do not have to grope in the dark or are taken by surprise. Employees are encouraged to share information with each other and with all other police and civil authorities. For the successful functioning of an organization like CO19, it is important that all the possible channels of information remain unclogged and functioning. How teamwork culture is built at the Department of Central Operations All due care is taken to inculcate and reinforce teamwork culture at CO19. From time to time, executive leaders convey to the staff members that teamwork and collaboration is expected of them. Executives deliberately practice teamwork in their interaction with junior employees and other related organisations and institutions. The employees are encouraged to talk about and identify the merits of team work culture. Instances of teamwork related success are recognized and rewarded. Popular stories and folklore within CO19 emphasize on team work and organization (Reh, 2008). The performance management system places emphasis on teamwork. Leadership at CO19 Senior officials at C019 follow a mix of Participative and Delegative leadership style (US Army Handbook, 1973). Important operational decisions are made with the active participation of some or all the members of a team. During the actual field operations, tem members are given enough freedom and space to make spontaneous, on the spot decisions. Organisational development at CO19 The distinguishing feature of an elite organisation like CO19 is its culture, norms and expectations that encourage performance oriented behaviour rather then self aggrandizement and petty politics. The organizational measurement tools are designed to measure, identify, highlight, develop and monitor synergy, change and improvement over time (Organisational Development, 2008). Conclusion The Department of Central Operations is the elite armed support organ of the London Metropolitan Police Service. The work culture at CO19 is all about teamwork, cooperation, respect and consideration. Each member in a team is assigned a specific role as per ones temperament and abilities and according to the wishes of other team members. Synergy, change and improvement are considered to be the bulwarks of organisational development at CO19. The style of management practised is this premier institution is primarily Democratic and Delegative in its approach. Bibliography ‘Central Operations Specialist Firearms Command (CO19) , Metropolitan Police, viewed 19 May 2008, ‘Organisational Development’, Human Synergistics, viewed 19 May 2008, Reh.J.F, ‘Management Tips for Motivation’, About.com, Viewed, 19 May 2008, Read More