reference Paper

ADM 481

10/02/2016

Many people begin work at a very young age, from mowing lawns and delivering newspapers to babysitting and helping in the fields. Most of these jobs may not be our life’s ambition or the occupation of our dreams but we learn at a very young age that you are rarely born into a specific profession. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the average number of jobs that the U.S. worker will have in their working career is seven (Bialik, 2010). Those seven experiences help mold and shape an individual’s work pattern and tendencies. Frequently there are issues within the workforce that arise and require attention. Although it is difficult to recognize one singular problem from my work environment, the purpose of this strategy paper is to identify and diagnose multiple issues in past daily works of the Wallace Police Department and how those problems were addressed, rectified, and hopefully eliminated from returning.

The police department in the town of Wallace has been in existence for a very long time, as is for most municipalities. In November, 2015, the police department celebrated its 100th year of existence. There have been only nine police chiefs in the department’s one hundred years of service, including the present chief. Before the current chief earned his position, Wallace’s previous leader, Chief Maready, was in office for almost 30 years, climbing the ladder from road officer through the ranks to the office of chief. Although he was, and still is, a respected leader of the department, many parts of the organizational behavior skillset were lacking.

First and foremost, there is a pivotal and intriguing question. What exactly are organizational skills and culture and how is that obtained? This is a problem, because without a reasonable definition (or definitions) of culture, we cannot hope to understand its connections to other key elements of the organization, such as structure and incentive systems. Nor can we develop good approaches to analyzing, preserving and transforming cultures. If we can define what organizational culture is, it gives us a handle on how to diagnose problems and even to design and develop better cultures (Atkins, 2015). The topic of organizational behavior skills and development carries many different definitions explained by various authors, researchers, and educational experts.

There are basic core competencies in the organizational behavior skills, or OB skills. These competencies include abilities and personality traits related to individual and institutional organizations, and are very important in many work settings. People in managerial positions in particular must generally have good organizational skills to effectively manage people, projects, and resources. Skills such as preparation, communication, and time management are all essential for organization and are, therefore, valuable in many work settings. Individuals, including leaders, who lack organizational behavior skills tend to be unorganized and unskilled at managing time and resources, and may, therefore, fit poorly into many work settings (Liden, 2016).

The many aspects and qualities of these leadership skills were obviously absent in the previous administration. There was a noticeable absence of leadership concerning a lack of accountability, an absence of professionalism and commitment from among the ranks, as well as little delegation from the chief. Many times the chief would arrive at work, go to his office and shut the door, while not interacting with anyone. Often were the days when he would come to work around noon and leave within a couple of hours. The organizational skills of setting a professional work example while communicating effectively was obviously missing. Other issues include proper equipment, or lack thereof, and insufficient training. The current chief, Chief Giddeons, is continually rectifying and correcting the tradition of negative work habits that have been missing for so many years.

In years past, everything assigned and completed was accomplished by hand. In other words, all reports, documentations, and inter-office correspondence were handwritten. Although computers, electronic devices, and online communication have been available for decades, there was a deliberate and unjustified avoidance by our former supervisor to incorporate any current technological advances into the police department. The rule of thumb under his administration was archaic and old-school. Most managers today understand how to use online tools to build and expand their networks and recognize the effective use of online networks will be crucial to success (Insky, Davenport, Iyer, Davidson, 2012). Leaders recognize the necessary need for such upgrades to improve time management, be properly prepared, and stay competitive. Officers have found, in particular, the time management aspect of their job has greatly improved with the additional technological upgrades.

The Wallace Police Department has recently upgraded to state-of-the-art equipment and computers both in the office and in the patrol vehicles. Having access to said equipment has improved organizational behavior skills including better morale, honed particular skill sets, and has added a sense of professionalism to the agency. Not only has this advancement improved the drive of the officers but it has helped them become more efficient in completing the tasks assigned to them. In the law enforcement profession documentation is vital. The old saying, “if it isn’t written down, it didn’t happen” is fundamentally true and is a staple in an officer’s daily routine. However, having access now to the proper equipment has improved the officer’s many aspects of the organizational behavior skillset.

An important organizational skill of the leader is the ability to manage the people under his/her control. That can be a daunting task if you are not an effective leader. Many theories of effective leadership are based on the premise that leadership characteristics are innate and not learned. Other theorize that leaders “born out of necessity” have been very influential in shaping world events. Whether leaders are born or made, most will agree that effective leadership involves processing certain characteristics or traits. For most effective leaders, the passion and commitment to change or influence their surroundings seems to be the driving force (Duncan, 2004). Many leaders have an obsessive drive with an undying need to produce positive results. Leaders often make mistakes manage their people. The best people don’t need to be managed. Guided, taught, led – yes. But not tightly managed. Often when you have the wrong person in your organization, leaders wait, delay, use alternatives, give third and fourth chances, and hope the situation improves. When the situation does not improve, significant energy has been wasted. Worse, all the time and energy we spend on that one person siphons energy away from working and developing with all the right people (Collins, 2001). Officers at the Wallace Police Department are not currently micromanaged with their daily duties. They have hierarchal responsibilities and mange themselves, to a certain degree, without the command staff getting involved.

Chief Maready had a hard time delegating as well as holding his staff accountable. As the years passed on, his influence started to wane. Employees regularly missed work, showed no interest in their positions, and had low self-esteem and very little morale. Former Secretary of State and retired four-star general in the United States Army, Colin Luther Powell, said, “Organizations don’t really accomplish anything. Plans don’t accomplish anything either. Theories of management don’t much matter. Endeavors succeed or fail because of the people involved. Only by attracting the best people will you accomplish great deeds.” Yes, there was an obvious problem with the diminishing management skills of the former chief. However, the trickle-down effect had taken over the agency from the top to the bottom and the best people were, all of a sudden, not employed at Wallace Police Department.

Organizational skills, in regards to the ability to manage people, begins with a leader getting the right people into your workforce. Using an analogy of a bus, a leader must first get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats – and then they figured out where to drive it. The old adage “People are your most important asset” turns out to be wrong. People are not your most important asset. The right people are. Great vision without great people is irrelevant. If you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate and manage people largely goes away. The right people don’t need to be tightly managed or fired up; they will be self-motivated by the inner drive to produce the best results and to be part of creating something great (Collins, 2001). Since Chief Giddeons’ appointment, the right people have been put into place. Morale, motivation, and pride has returned to the department along with a sense of purpose in serving the community.

Our former chief also had a certain distain for any feedback from his subordinates. Leadership is about creating a climate where the truth is heard and the brutal facts confronted. There’s a huge difference between the opportunity to “have your say” and the opportunity to be heard. The great leaders understand this distinction, creating a culture wherein people have a tremendous opportunity to be heard and, ultimately, for the truth to be heard (Collins, 2001). Every Monday, a meeting is held with the Wallace P.D.’s command staff to address any concerns, questions, and suggestions for the upcoming week. All ideas are heard and freedom is given to be honest and open with the chief to express any proposals on the operations of the department. By being open to recommendations and giving the employees an opportunity to gainfully contribute to the department, Chief Giddeons is using his organizational skills to not only manage the people under him but also to manage pending and potential projects.

A great leader builds from the top down and successfully leads by example. Building this culture makes sense. It is important to create an atmosphere of learning, open communication, and trust. Also vital is the need to build company morale. One of the easiest ways to improve morale is to focus on improving management skills. If supervisors are seen as distant or untrustworthy, morale inevitably suffers. Supervisors should make sure that they are accessible to all of the employees that they are supervising, and that they are seen as behaving in a consistent and trustworthy fashion. Motivated employees are more productive employees, so finding ways to energize staff and make them more excited about doing their jobs will go a long way towards improving the culture of a company (Bailey, 2013). The main difference between the last chief and the current leader is an openness for employees to be active participants in the daily operation of the police department. Chief Giddeons has a well establish grasp on the skills needed to proactively manage people, projects, and resources.

Vision is one of the most imperative organization skills. Vision and leadership go hand in hand. In the organization today, clear objectives are outlined with specific, achievable goals that lay before the department. Many of Chief Giddeons’ goals and objectives have been met. Our previous chief had very little if any goals. His main emphasis was to have a warm body in a patrol car to ride around the town. It was not necessary the individual was properly trained nor equipped as he should have been. Many officers had outdated weapons, old dilapidated uniforms, expired ballistic vests, and lacked many necessary tools to complete their jobs. There was no vision on obtaining said upgrades, improving any working conditions, or most notably morale.

At the beginning of the department’s new administration two years ago, things began to instantly improve. A new emphasis was put on the vision of the police department. Goals were set. The easily obtainable goals were achieved almost immediately. The large goals, such as new vehicles, departmental-issued weapons, and building upgrades were now obtainable. It is very important to understand that as the new vision was being implemented, the morale and excitement returned to the workplace. One of John Maxwell’s 21 irrefutable laws is the Law of the Lid. This law simply states that the organization will go only as far as the leader will/can take it. If a leader has limited ambition and vision, he can only take the organization so far and that will be is as far as it will ever go. He also explained the The Law of Buy-In. The people have to buy into the leader, and then the vision (Maxwell, 1998). Chief Giddeons made sure to explain to the staff, after taking over the new position, what his vision was and where he wanted to take the department. He first sold himself and then his vision.

Many times for employees in an organization to “buy-in” to what the leader has envisioned, there is attached incentives. If the challenge is accepted, schedules kept, and goals met, the employee’s hard word is rewarded, a return on the staff’s investment into the company. Compensation and incentives are important, but for very different reasons in great companies. The purpose of a compensation system should not be to get the right behaviors from the wrong people, but to get the right people on the bus (remember the bus!) in the first place, and to keep them there (Collins, 2001). Very often incentives are rewarded in the form of bonuses, or monetary gains. If an organization can adapt to their employee’s individuality, making incentives personal is the best approach. As with any company, whether large corporations or small family owned shops, people have different tastes and what drives one may not drive another.

Monetary motivation at the Wallace Police Department cannot be easily grouped into the corporate world’s definition of incentives. Whereas there is an obvious conflict of interest in the law enforcement field to have monetary incentives for performing duties, Chief Giddeons must find other resourceful ways to make incentives for job’s well done. Incentives include rewarding officers with the newest, most recently released, updated equipment. Sending the best officers to specialized training for advancement toward their Advance Law Enforcement degree. However, most of the time a majority of the men and women at the police department are satisfied with the occasional pat on the back and an ‘atta-boy’. There are many ways the chief has implemented incentives without contradicting the integrity of the office, which is very important in the law enforcement field.

One of the most substantial qualities of leadership is having the trust and confidence in the person who leads, knowing that this person will not lead you or the company astray. Leadership is also integrity. A leader has the ability to assert him/herself by example. The qualities of leadership are universal, found among every race, from low to middle to high class, and across educational barriers. The qualities have endured the test of time. It is important to know these organizational behavior skills can be learned. As leaders examine how their people act, think, and feel, the skillsets can be molded as the business or company needs are discovered and embraced.

The Wallace Police Department has improved dramatically over the last two years. The illustrations given in this report are only a few of the examples and remedies the agency has experienced. Chief Giddeons’, and the command staff he has assembled, adherence to effective management rules have made this department a successful example of the organizational behavior perspective. Once these skills were embraced, success was inevitable.

Citations

Akins, M. D. (2015, May 15). What is Organizational Culture? And Why Should We Care? Retrieved September 25, 2016, from https://hbr.org/2013/05/what-is-organizational-culture

Bailey, C. (2013, August 18). Company Culture, Morale and Productivity. Retrieved September 25, 2016, from http://xen.com.au/how-good-company-culture-affects-morale-and-productivity/