Western Australia Police - Cultural Changes - Case Study Example

Running Header: Analysis report of case study on WA Police Student’s Name: Lecturer’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Analysis report of case study on WA Police Executive Summary This case study on Western Australia (WA) police department analyses the concerns raised by police who have experienced the bullying after joining the police department. Bullying occurs when new members of the police department in WA are harassed by their superiors because of their gender. This case study also discusses the various cultural changes needed to make the police organization have a positive perspective towards work and the employees. The ways to manage change in the police department are also explained in details. Recommendations for these types of changes that will positively affect the outcome of police service in Western Australia will guide the Police Commissioner on how to improve the standards of the police in Australia. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Cultural Change in WA Police 5 Discussion of Current Leadership in WA Police 7 Police Commissioner’s Role in Change Management 9 Planning Strategy 9 Leadership Strategy 10 Communication 11 Competency Building 12 Strategy of Sustenance 12 Recommendations 13 Conclusion 14 References 15 Introduction According to AAP of Perth Now, Western Australia police department have been bombarded with bullying cases in the Victorian Supreme Court for a very long period of time. The police department in WA is under investigations for cases of bullying and discrimination as stated by Trevor (2010). Women are mostly bullied because they are considered as the weak link in the police department especially when they are pregnant. People continue to resign from their police positions in WA because of severe cases of bullying according to Paddenburg& Christensen (2011). This is a condition that makes police work inside their offices harder than when they are keeping a safe society for Australians. The current culture in WA police is one of bullying and working for many years to get a promotion whereby, superiors practice dictatorship over their employees who are either starting their police career or women who are pregnant (AAP). The hierarchy system is very important in the police force to maintain order but the cultural system needs to change to allow employees to make important decisions about their long term careers in the police department will ensure successful outcomes in the WA police department. Cultural Change in WA Police A system of governance that is bureaucratic creates a platform for bullying in the police department worldwide. It is essential to maintain order within the police system by using the hierarchy system and it is been encouraged that superiors should be respected by all means possible. This culture is however hindering personal development in the lives of policemen and policewomen in WA. All employees who work in the police department in WA should be given an opportunity to choose what they really want as the police as stated by Trevor (2010). This means that working environment and equality in the office or while on patrol is an important decision made by both the superiors and police force. Leaders in an organization are in charge of many people who depend on their guidance and supervision to perform their tasks. When these organizations realized that it was making business loss, senior management who had major organizational incompetency to lead employees were either replaced or taught how to handle the work unit as illustrated by Blanpain (2010, pp. 318). Western Australia police force needs leaders who value the police force who dedicate their lives to making a difference in the community. Cultural change means that officers have to be encouraged through training, talent management and reward for good work done Blanpain (2010, pp. 321). Training will enable new police officers to gain the skills and experiences needed to avoid being labeled as rookies in the police department. This will also show superior officers that new police officers have the skills needed to be part of the department and this means that they will be respected as compared to when they are incompetent. Talent management is guiding police officers to discover their inner abilities to rise above their limitations and achieve greatness as illustrated by Blanpain (2010, pp. 321). Such police officers who excel in police tasks should be rewarded by opportunities that allow them to be senior officers in the WA. This will encourage other officers to work harder and senior officers to respect the new officers because of the system of management that will change the police department for good. The police commissioner and his change team should instigate the famous cultural change called Perform, Grow and Breakout cultural change in WA police. Perform means that police officers perform their tasks successfully, Grow has underlying principles such as strengthening leadership and lastly, Breakout is intended to build the base for long term success and sustainable leadership as illustrated by Blanpain (2010, pp. 317). WA police needs to lead in the following ten measures of ethics and value assessment. They include targets/goals, mission/aspirations, performance feedback, organizational approach, control and co-ordination of people, control and co-ordination of finance, operational control and co-ordination, motivation by using rewards/recognition, motivation by providing career opportunities, and inspiration in terms of importance/values as illustrated by Blanpain (2010, pp. 317). Police officers who have been in the police department for a long period of time tend to bully new recruits but the worst kind of bullying in WA police is when superiors are harassing new police officers. This should be eliminated to give police officers and senior management the freedom they deserved in making essential decisions that affects the WA police department positively. Major initiatives that will facilitate cultural change in WA police are three fold: Breakout workshops, Charters and Consulting as stated by Philippe (2010, pp.318). Breakout workshops explore personal and emotional development of police officers. This phase examines values and thoughts that make officers behave the way they do in interacting and understanding the police department’s values. Breakout charters are in form of projects that should be hosted by the police commissioner and focused changing processes to ensure cultural transformation WA police. Breakout consulting provides consulting and diagnostic services to help police force in sustaining the desired culture (Bushfield 2011, pp. 318). Police officers and senior management go through this cultural change to figure out what they really desire from positions in WA police. This change will make police officers have the freedom to choose the jobs that they desire most as compared to handling jobs they do not like. This Cultural change will work in the WA police department in because police officers need to be motivated in work while performance is closely monitored to check out the best officers and those who need improvement. Bullying is caused by hierarchy system, lack of specialized skills and experience and also due to the fact that some superior officers are ignorant on the talent and skills police officers possess as illustrated by Paddenburg & Christensen, (2011). Women in the police department are discriminated against especially when they are pregnant and this is because superior officers think that they cannot perform well in that condition (AAP). This should however change and pregnant women in the police department in WA should be given a pregnancy leave until they can perform well. Discussion of Current Leadership in WA Police Western Australia police department needs an organizational change in the structure and culture for it to function fully. The police culture in WA has accommodated bullying of new recruits into the police department which leads to many people resigning from WA police. Cultural change will change the way superiors relate to the police officers. Police officers will be able to table their concerns about harassment to the board and be assured of penalties against offenders in the police department. The aged rules of supervision and management in the police department does not fully work in the contemporary world. Effective leaders need to coach and mentor their employees so as to build a team of successful employees who can work without the managers being around all the time as stated by Philippe (2010, pp.325). Effective leaders need to ensure that the police force know their positions at the work place. This means that the police officers know their tasks in the business and also where they are positioned in the work space. This will make all the employees devote their skills and also talents to the various tasks delegated to them and they will also help their workmates when they have problems as illustrated by Kuriger (2004). Mentoring on the other hand is vital for the success of the police commissioner. Mentoring will help the police commissioner in making the police force to realize their full potential hence becoming innovative and also creative. In today’s changing world, good talent is often hard to find but when the talent is found, keeping it becomes a problem. The Police Commissioner knows that if they do not reward or recognize their talented police officers he will keep recruiting other officers month after month. This is because when a police officer realizes that he or she has great talent, the chances of going to a better place with good working conditions are very high. As stated by Philippe (2010, pp.325), good mentoring enhances police officer’s retention because those who are developing and also growing on the job will not leave. Most leaders lack the qualities of being effective leaders and most of the times they blame their own incompetence on their employees which is not good for business. Senior police officers who think that they can run WA police department without leadership qualities in terms of coaching and mentoring police recruits fail to achieve their goals as leaders and also as people who are responsible for the improvement of the lives of their police force. The police commissioner must learn how to relate to the police officers and he does not have to be a perfectionist to be able to set a good example to the police force in WA. Many organizations undergo changes that the leaders themselves become resistant to the change. When such a thing happens, it is the responsibility of the senior management to seek mentoring and coaching services from outside the organization because the people in the police department might be as confused about the change as their superiors and this will not help the community. The worst case scenario is when the senior management does not pay attention to the police officers’ problems. Police officers who seek attention and find none are prone to leave the police department even when the department’s future entirely depends on them. Police Commissioner’s Role in Change Management According to Ingols et al. (2011, p. 490) three distinct strategies of change that will successfully ensure employees have embraced organizational change are plan (understanding the organization), lead (leadership buy-in, communication and competency building) and finally sustain (sustenance). Planning Strategy When planning for the change in the WA, there should be a thorough understanding of the organization. This means that sub-cultures of different branches should be studied, the board should be identified and analyzed because these are the few people who can resist change and make sure that it nothing is changed as stated by Lewis (2011, p. 200). An effective communication plan and strategy should be established. This is the point where change strategy and charter is established to enable the change to be implemented in future. Change management should be constituted in order to achieve a successful outcome. Leadership Strategy Leadership as a change strategy is very important because employees and stakeholders need somebody who can show them the right path into achieving key objectives in the organization. Leadership buy-in is composed of conducting change contract workshops for employees. The senior police officers and operations manager of the police department should develop a connection with all officers. According to a survey carried out by Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) (2010, p. 62) change management should be oriented on the tasks require for a successful change and also incredible outcomes. As a leader, the Police Commissioner should actually try and connect with the employees as a team in order to achieve what the board requires as successful outcomes. Leadership strategy also means assessing risks that can be caused by people who refuse to adapt to change. This is very important in the company because change means a new challenge in the organization and also in employees’ lives because they will all be introduced to new systems and exposed to many people who need their help. Great leaders make the mentoring system to apply on a personal level. Here the police officer in question will want the superior officer to focus on the employee’s career and energy while at work. As argued by Laegreid & Christensen (2011, p. 187), continuous feedback from the leaders on the employee’s performance is highly recommended. A mentor has to appreciate the contribution of the employee in the whole company and also ask the kinds of skills the employee can easily develop or where the employee’s passion in work lies. Mentoring low performers has also become a good idea for senior managers in the sense that, the leaders are able to identify with the entire work unit and know where the employees’ weaknesses in the police department. These findings are used to motivate the low performers into competent people who can work without supervision and still achieve the set goals. The leaders should assign projects in the work place judiciously, meaning that the employees should be given projects that are not always client oriented but research work and work that is worthy of their skills. This helps the employees to focus deeply into their fields of interest. The employees are often advised to find or seek their own mentors in the workplace as argued by Laegreid & Christensen (2011, p. 187). This means that the employees who share common interests and also goals should form a personal advisory board where they encourage each other on the ways of achieving their goals. Good mentors are the people who interact with the employees in ways that make them feel and want to grow better, on a personal level and also as a team. The mentor is a person who will be able to tell the employees the things they may not want to hear but these will still leave the employees feeling as though they have been heard. Good mentors also assure Communication The best way to make all employees agree with new ideas is to communicate with them on a personal level. This means that leaders should develop and deliver communications. While talking to employees, leaders should take time to listen to what the police officers have to say about organizational change and why they need it. This form of communication should be tracked and also monitored to check if it the most appropriate method. The police commissioner should occasionally disagree with senior management and give evidence of the reasons why change is important in a constant changing environment as argued by Laegreid & Christensen (2011, p. 186). Other forms of communications can also be used to get employees on the side of organizational change. Police officers can be promised income increase after training because it means that new skills require extensive working. Competency Building Competency building is giving police officers the ability to perform required tasks in the direction of key objectives in WA police. These new recruits will then be trained, coached and mentored by professionals with the intention of making them of high value to the community as stated by Kelly (2011, p. 293). Training also assesses the needs of police officers and senior management team and also the impact of this change to WA police. Here, a needs analysis is carried out to find out outcomes of change in police officers’ performance. Enhancement of training, coaching and also mentoring should be done for all officers including their superiors. The police department should be changed in redeployment of work positions because the administrative department is comprised of people with essential roles but redundant outcomes. Strategy of Sustenance Sustenance means that all police officers who perform well under the new system should be nourished and motivated with end of year bonuses and also occasional office parties. There should however be an elimination of rewarding specific few officers because this will be seen as biasness. Those who are outstanding in work performance should however be recognized and this will be a motivation for other police officers to improve their services. A feedback mechanism from police officers should be put into place to know what to improve or eliminate as stated by Kelly (2011, p. 293). Resolution of issues raised by police officers in WA, community and superior officers should be resolved while keeping in mind the parties involved. The current system has a different performance expectation but the new system will require that the performance management be reconsidered because expectations are high and different. A change team comprised of both junior and senior officers should help to institutionalize the police department change effectively. Recommendations Cultural Change and organizational change are the most important things in WA for successful outcomes. Bullying is a culture that has been exercised for a very long time but this culture has led to the decline in police service in WA. The Police Commissioner should change the culture of WA by first eliminating superior police officers who have been accused of bullying. This will be a stern warning to other police officers who are planning to harass new police officers. The next step is to train and reward police officers who successfully complete tasks given and also allow new police officers to advance in their careers. The police Commissioner may lack the game book or the whistle but it is his responsibility to inspire the police officers so that the work unit can give their all in achieving a certain goal. Winning teams are created by professional and skilled leaders who know how to inspire, motivate, and also guide their employees to phenomenal success. The appropriate feedback mechanism will always prevent team failure. The police commissioner should be a good listener; when police officers have an issue that needs to be addressed, the police commissioner and senior management should be able to take time and listen to the problems and find ways of solving them. Senior officers should devise ways of preventing employee burnout by replacing it with enthusiasm and also motivation. Conclusion The police department in West Australia has been under strict scrutiny because of bullying cases. This is however going to change because the Police Commissioner will help initiate cultural and organizational change by first redeploying top positions of officers with bullying history and then encourage career development to meet organizational and personal goals. Organizational change in the WA is very essential to improve police service in WA for a better and safe community. References AAP 2011, Melbourne policewoman bullied – court, viewed 3 June 2011, http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/breaking-news/melbourne-policewoman-bullied- court/story-e6frg12u-1226064346386 Blanpain 2010, Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations in Industrialized Market, Blackwell Press, London. Ingols C., Cawsey, T. F & Gene, D 2011, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit. Sage Publications, California. Kelly, P 2011, The March of Patriots: The Struggle for Modern Australia, Melbourne University Publishing. Melbourne. Kuriger, C 2004, Organizational Change: Case Studies in the Real World. Universal- Publishers.com Inc. Illinois. Laegreid P & Christensen T 2011, The Ashgate Research Companion to New Public Management. University of Oslo, Norway. Lewis, L 2011, Organizational Change: Creating Change Through Strategic Communication. Wiley-Blackwell, West Sussex. Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development 2010, OECD Economic Surveys: Australia 2010. OECD Publishing, Australia.  Philippe, B 2010, Divergences & convergences, Presses Universitaires du Mirail, Toulouse. Trevor P 2010. WA Police documents reveal bullying, corruption, discrimination, viewed 3 June 2011, http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/documents-reveal-bullying- corruption-discrimination-in-wa-police/story-e6frg13u-1225969425509 Read More