The Impact of the Three Leadership Styles on Police Integrity Violations - Essay Example

Abstract

In this study, I will be examining the impact of three leadership styles on the violation of integrity by the police officers. Determining the relationship between ethics and leadership is important as to become an effective leader one should be morally upright, they should be good role models for them to lead the rest into providing good services to the citizens. Thus, leadership and ethics go hand in hand, as this association would establish a good relationship among the police officers where they mutually respect each other. Ethical, effective leaders ensure that the ethics at the workplace are clear among all participants; they ensure they "walk the Talk" in that they practice what they want the other to follow and learn to hold others accountable for their behaviors. In law enforcement, the officers must lead and behave in an ethical manner since they are ultimately responsible for maintaining society's standards.

Introduction

Professional integrity and ethics are among the most significant core values in an organization, either in the public or private sectors. They ensure they enhance the organization’s effectiveness and its achievements. The violation of integrity at the workplace impacts employee motivation and general performance, ultimately affecting the organization's productivity. In addition, the violation of integrity also violates the citizens’ liberty and rights, which negatively affects the company's legitimacy. To prevent such unattractive results from happening, both public and private sectors should strive to adopt the right leadership styles, which will prevent the violation of integrity. Within the police agencies, integrity violations have become a great concern all over the world. Looking at the current events taking place in the U.S., where police brutality has become rampant where the police are killing innocent civilians even at the comfort of their houses. Furthermore, the policemen and women are not held accountable for their actions; this is becoming concerning.

Integrity is essential in all organizations; when the integrity of the employers or the employees is in question, this tends to destroy the organization's performance. This is because it’s said to be a precondition for the smooth operation of the organization. The police sector is not an exception; if it functions with integrity, this will not only will it ensure the smooth operations but also strengthen their relationship with the civilians. However, the violation of integrity, on the other hand, damages the organization's reputation. In this case, violation of integrity within the police sector may result in an implosion in the country’s political system where the civilian has no faith with the people who are meant to protect them. While all this is important, an effective leader should be in place to achieve this.

According to studies, leadership is one of the most important factors which influence the ethics and integrity of the employees. Several aspects of leadership can affect, will explore three of the main leadership styles which impact the ethics and integrity violation among the police officers. They include, leaders being role models in that they set a good example to the rest of the employees, Leaders being strict in they ensure all roles are clear and in that they ensure all the employees are accountable for their actions and finally the leader’s transparency to discuss any dilemmas and integrity issues. These three styles are important in developing a reputable, ethical leadership; they form a moral leader's pillar.

Role Model

As a leader, the example that one set is usually the determining factor in how the rest of the employees behave, and in this case, in protecting the integrity of the organization. The behaviors of the leaders often reflect the organization's norms and how things are done within the workplace. Therefore subordinate employees are highly likely to imitate the example set by the leaders. In law enforcement has behavioral integrity among the police officers leaders; this will influence the behavioral integrity of the employees also. Tendencies such as corruption are highly determined by how the leaders are doing. If the leaders often engage in corrupt activities such as collecting bribes from civilians, the employees are more likely to imitate and engage in such integrity violation activities. Leaders who act as an excellent example to their employees are highly likely to change improper behaviors among the employees, including bullying, sexual harassment, and discrimination. The more the leaders portray integrity in their practice at work, the lesser the integrity violations will be observed with the rest of the employees in the organization.

Leader’s strictness

Being an ethical leader not only entails being a moral person and a good example, just making the right decisions and being an ethical leader is not enough in the police sector. Being a strict leader helps prevent violations of integrity in the workplace. This can also be looked at the expectations that employees have if they achieve a certain goal while working and fear being punished for not accomplishing something or behaving in a certain unacceptable manner. In any organization, employees will avoid engaging in integrity violation activities if they know they will be held accountable for their behaviors. No reward could outweigh the punishment they will experience. The leaders' level of strictness will determine activities such as abusing and manipulating confidential information. If the leaders are very strict and have set serious consequences for people who breach this confidentiality of their information, the employees will refrain from this activity. Improper use of policing is also determined by the level of strictness of the police officers' leaders. The police officers should be aware of the consequences of using their titles to engage in illegal activities such as police brutality.

Police officers should be held accountable for this integrity violation; if one is caught unethically treating a civilian, they should be punished accordingly. Such leadership will help lessen police officers' possibilities of acting against their jurisdiction and carrying out their operation with the utmost integrity. Disciplining the violators within an organization acts as a symbol; it helps reinforce the set standards and upholds the value of conforming to the organization's culture and maintaining the organization's perception of where the integrity breaches are held accountable for their wrongdoings. Therefore, this calls for the leaders to state clearly what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in the organization to avoid confusion. Police leaders should be strict while applying their norms to the employees to prevent integrity violations in their operations. The stricter the police officer leaders enforce the organization's ethical norms and punish the violators, the lee cases of integrity violations will be experienced.

Leader’s Openness

In an organization where the leaders are open and transparent, there are fewer rates of misconduct. In an organization where the leadership is open, employees can be honest about their mistakes; they can come forward ifforward if they are faced with ethical issues. They are more likely to report an integrity violation if they notice. This is contrary to where the leadership is closed in that the leaders are not approachable, and therefore this encourages the employees to silence. In such a setup, integrity violations are very many since the employees learn to keep their eyes closed to any misbehaviors. Activities such as fraud and theft are more likely to happen in an organization where the leadership is closed. Thus, the more open leadership is regarded as providing opportunities and addressing integrity matters, there are likely fewer violations of integrity by the employees.

Open leadership has a great impact on the misuse of an organization's resources. People will fear they will be reported to the management since the leaders are open with the rest of the employees.

An open leadership violation of integrity, such as discrimination and sexual harassment, is less likely to occur. Openness also has an influence on the levels of corruption within an organization. This means that leaders should be strict and be good role models, but they should also be transparent and approachable to their employees to create an environment where the employees can come with their integrity queries. Dilemmas such as how to treat protestors, both peaceful and violent. This goes without saying that employees being lead with an open leader tend to engage in fewer integrity violations.

Generally, being a good role model has the most impact on preventing a violation of integrity and works best with openness and strictness. An integrity focused leadership also works to limit integrity violations within the organization. Ethical leaders should strive to ensure that the ethics of integrity in the organization are consistent and clear. They should be able to preach and practice it to demonstrate the kind of behavior expected, which is both acceptable and appropriate. Hence the type of leadership is important and should be emphasized to ensure an ethical workplace.