Management Situation In A Police Organisation Management Essay

Management Situation In A Police Organisation Management Essay This essay will analyse a change management situation in a Police organisation, comparing approaches to leadership, analysing the efficiency of interpersonal skills for a Leader and analysing the role of a Leader within the Police environment, taking cognisance of the principles, theories and approaches to Leadership. Leadership is a function of knowing yourself, having a vision that is well communicated, building trust among colleagues, and taking effective action to realise your own leadership potential. The Police service in Scotland has under gone many Change Management Situations over the years. In 1975 the Local Government reorganisation brought about the amalgamation of the Burgh and City police forces into the eight territorial forces that we recognise today. At the present Strathclyde Police are undergoing a significant change management situation, the result of which is the implementation of Variable Shift Agreement (VSA) across the force at operational level. EVALUATE APPROACHES TO LEADERSHIP The introduction of the VSA saw the force revise its traditional four group system for core uniform coverage into a five group system. The demands of the new arrangement meant that the leader (Chief Constable) was tasked with altering the resource management for each of Strathclydes territorial divisions considering factors such as: Length of Service and age Specialities i.e. Public Order , Firearms Gender These factors were all considered to provide an equal share of skills and experience across a Division as possible. This could prove the cause of friction between the management and subordinates, as well formed; productive shifts could be fragmented and divided up across a division. Kotter (1990, cited in Leadership 2009) observed that managers and leaders have three main tasks that they accomplish in different ways: Deciding what needs to be done Shift pattern must change to give better work life balance, better service to the public and more efficient use of resources. Creating networks of people and relationships that can accomplish the agenda Setting up of a review and implementation team, looking at best use of resources. Trying to ensure that people actually do the job monitoring the results of the newly formed shifts through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as cases submitted, stop searches undertaken and absence management. In the implementation of the VSA shift pattern the leader involved, more or less followed the three tasks as observed by Kotter, however depending on the leaders rank within the hierarchy, their approach to the same task will differ. Remembering that there is a difference between leaders and managers Kotters approach allows Leaders to concentrate on the creation of strategies and visions for the future, communicating and committing to achievement of these visions and motivating others despite obstacles to change. During this change management situation the Leader was more concerned with focusing on the implementation of the VSA rather than focusing on the needs of the employees. Lewin et al (1939, cited in Leadership 2009) identified a leadership approach, sometimes referred to as the behavioural approach: Autocratic (or authoritarian) style where the leader concentrates on getting the job done; the leader takes responsibility for everything that is done e.g. making decisions , allocating work, setting targets and ensures , through the use of rewards and punishments that team members obey. Democratic (or participation) style where the leader concentrates on the needs of the group or team; leadership is shared with team members who have a greater say in the decision making; how tasks are allocated and so on. Laissez Faire (or delegative) style as its name suggests this is where the leader deliberately allows the team to decide what has to be done and how to do it; the leader is available for help and advice if needed but does not interfere. According to Lewin et al the leader utilised an autocratic style of leadership when implementing the VSA, controlling decision making and task setting. Shown with the formation of the VSA implementation team. They had the set task of rolling out the shift plan to each division in turn, with target dates set for this roll out. Furthermore, the Chief Constable regularly chaired a strategic tasking and co-ordinating group, receiving feedback from the implementation team and Divisional Commanders, whilst making all the decisions regarding the implementation, without handing any of these decisions down to subordinates to undertake, showing that in this case he was taking responsibility for everything that was done. A different approach to leadership is that of Hersey and Blanchard (1988, cited in Leadership 2009) theory known as situational leadership, they make use of observing members willingness to perform a task and from this select a suitable leadership style. The four stages of readiness are described as: R1 unable and unwilling R2 unable and willing R3 able but unwilling R4 able and willing Most personnel which would be affected fell into: R2 New Probationers who do not yet have the necessary skills and had not experience any other shift pattern. And R3 More experienced officers who could foresee that the shift pattern was not as favourable as the current one, some possibly resistant to change. But others able to argue that there would be problems with child care, longer working days and frequent cancellation of rest days with the VSA. The leadership styles suggested are: S1 telling or directing requires state of readiness R1 S2 selling or coaching requires state of readiness R2 S3 participating or supporting requires state of readiness R3 S4 delegating requires state of readiness R4 From this theory the leader should have adopted a combination of S2 and S3 styles to communicate and sell the VSA and support those who require it. However in choosing to implement S1 (similar to the autocratic approach) with telling and directing the VSA implementation, does not follow Hersey and Blanchards theory and could create more friction by choosing the wrong leadership style. This is shown in the table below. This table shows that different readiness levels require differing styles of leadership, leaders should consider their relations with others, and the structure of the task before determining what style of leadership to adopt, evolving their leadership style as readiness levels change, as with many things one size does not fit all. ANALYSE THE EFFECT OF INTERPERSONAL SKILLS ON LEADERSHIP When a leader decides upon a particular leadership approach to their given task, they must then interact with others and consider their own interpersonal skills. A successful and effective leader requires a range of interpersonal skills such as listening, asking questions, giving feedback, being assertive and so on. This section will analyse two particular aspects of interpersonal skills: Influencing trying to get someone to do, or to think, something that they might not otherwise have done. Managing Conflict coping with disagreements between people(in broad terms) Using interpersonal skills is not just a matter of knowing what they are, but about being aware when they are suitable and knowing how to use them effectively. According to French and Raven (1959, cited in Leadership 2009) power comes from five sources: Reward Power Coercive Power Referent Power Legitimate Power Expert power Power is an abstract concept and is difficult to define; basically A has the ability to make B behave in a certain way. The types of power demonstrated by the leader, throughout the organisational change was a mixture of coercive and legitimate power. The leader had the authority to influence behaviour through their rank within a disciplined hierarchal organisation, the force were presented with the VSA or an alternative of an even older shift pattern without consultation. Influencing Leaders are likely to adopt a particular style or approach when trying to influence someone, the balance of power between both parties will possibly determine the strategy, these may include: Reason using reason and logical argument. Assertion making a direct request with no argument to support the request. Exchange negotiating to arrive at a mutually acceptable outcome. Courting Favors friendship and positive behavior to encourage others to behave in the required manner. Coercion using or threatening to use some form of sanction. Partnership gathering support from both sides to build a coalition. And also the style used, Manning and Robertson (2004, cited in Leadership 2009) suggest six possible influencing styles: Strategist this is where the influencer is clear in what they what to achieve and has considered it before hand .A strategist style tends to favour reason, assertion and partnership styles of influence. Opportunist this style involves responding opportunistically to the situation facing the influencer. An opportunist style tends to use courting favour and exchange strategies. An opportunist is unlikely to prepare much beforehand but will attempt to grasp chances that come their way. Collaborator this style as its name suggests, involves collaboration with others for the overall good. A collaborator style concentrates on partnership, reason, exchange and courting favour strategies. Leaders who favour consensus are an example of collaborator style. Battler this is where the influencer concentrates on what they want and the sanction that they will use if they do not achieve this. A battler style tends to make use of coercion and assertion styles. A battler style is associated with people who want to get their own way and are reluctant to take no for an answer. Shotgun this strategy involves attempting to influence on a frequent basis and by use of a number of different strategies. Bystander those who adopt this style tend to engage in relatively few influencing attempts and make use of a restricted use of strategies. For the VSA to be implemented the leader combined their influencing strategy and style, using assertion and coercion. By making a direct request to Divisional Commanders to introduce the VSA to their respective divisions, through the VSA implementation teams, underpinning this with their legitimate power by virtue of their position within the force. The leader wanted to get their own way, however reluctant to take no for an answer from their Divisional Commanders. This resulted in conflict, which may have been avoided had the leader utilised a partnership or reason approach, justifying the reason behind their requests. Managing Conflict On some occasions leaders can use the previously discussed influencing strategies and power levels to assist them in managing conflict. Robbins (1996, cited in Leadership 2009) describes conflict as a process that begins when one party perceives that another has negatively effected, or is about to negatively effect, something that the first party cares about . Buchanan and Huczynski (2004) argue that conflict is a state of mind . Some will argue that conflict is a necessary part of organisational growth and development, where some will claim that an absence of conflict could be seen as an indication of complacency. However conflict has functional or potential benefits such as: Enabling opposing parties to gain a better understanding of each others views. An essential part of the process by which a team becomes effective. Leads alternative suggestions being made. Helps to implement a change successfully. Leads to an agreement that establishes a framework for future working. It is not always straight forward to manage conflict; some measures can be used to contribute to reducing the conflict at an organisational level reminding those involved of the rules and procedures, but also of remits, targets and goals of the organisation, however sometimes it is these that are the root causes of the conflict. Leaders will all handle conflict differently depending on the type of conflict faced; Thomas (1976, cited in Leadership 2009) suggests five styles for managing conflict: Avoiding this means doing nothing to tackle the conflict, this can be used when the issues are trivial and there is no chance of resolving the conflict. Accommodating this means accepting the existence of the conflict, this can be used to maintain harmony and allow people to learn from their mistakes. Compromising this involves some form of bargaining or negotiation; this can be used when getting a solution is important and both parties have equal power. Competing the opposite of accommodating and pursuing the interests of one party at the expense of the other, this can be used in an emergency and a quick solution is necessary. Collaborating working out a solution that is acceptable to both parties and meets all their concerns, used when it is important to gain long term commitment and issues are to important to compromise. Successful influencing and conflict management was certainly required with the initial introduction of the VSA. Firstly the leaders had to influence the core shifts and federation into accepting that it would provide a better quality of service and greater work life balance. The conflict arose through others unwilling to accept the terms of the VSA; however the leaders in managing this conflict firstly adopted an avoiding strategy during the initial pilot stage of the VSA. At the conclusion of the pilot and in preparation for roll out the leader, still facing resistance changed into competing. The leader believed the shift plan would work force wide and therefore would be implemented, with no consultation and no argument to justify the reasons for implementation. Either that or resort backwards to an older shift pattern. In implementing the VSA the Chief Constable has made effective use of their interpersonal skills, in their own distinct approach to this particular change management situation. However a more beneficial approach may have been a mix of accommodation, accepting that there were flaws in the VSA, and the existence of conflict with its implementation, collaborating with subordinates to work out a better solution for the long term strategy of the VSA. ANALYSE THE ROLE OF LEADERS IN ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE Organisational change is about closing the gap between where the organisation is at the moment and where it wants to be. It is the leaders role to close this gap. Senior (2002, cited in Leadership 2009) has identified four levels of change in which some, if not all would be involved in, Fine tuning Incremental adjustment Modular transformation Corporate transformation According to Senior the level of change that the VSA posed to the force was that of a modular transformation, as a significant number of the force, but not all, would be affected by its implementation. Kurt Lewin (cited in Leadership 2009) suggests that there are three main stages of change, unfreezing, change and refreezing. For the change to happen, the Leader firstly recognized the need for change, with a new shift pattern, following this with proprietary planning with the implementation team before the unfreezing stage. At this point resistance to the change should have been addressed, but the leader chose to avoid the conflict. The change period was overseen by the leader through chairing tasking meetings and monitoring its progress. During the refreezing period the VSA became an everyday part of life, the change was institutionalized, to give no chance of reverting back to previous shift patterns. Within these three stages people will play different roles in this organisational change; Kanter (1992, cited in Leadership 2009) distinguishes between three different types of people; Change strategists or initiators who initiate change and set the direction for it. Change implementers who co-ordinate and carry out the change. Change recipients who are effected by the change e.g. officers on the street. Change strategists are normally leaders the Chief Constable, change implementers are normally managers Divisional Commanders and the VSA implementation team, and subordinates are the recipients of change Officers on the core shifts. Force field analysis is a technique for analysing the internal and external drivers that can influence any organisational change; some of these driving factors for this organisational change can be identified as PESTEL factors, such as: Political MPs and councilors demanding more police presence on the streets. Economic overtime cost, reduced budget and the new Chief Constables promise to cut costs. Social-cultural alcohol induced anti social behavior. Nearly all forms of change will be met with some resistance, the VSA being no different. Strebel (1996, cited in Leadership 2009) argues that employees resist change because it disrupts the personal contract between employees and the organisation. Resisters to this organisational change can fall into different categories, Parochial self interest those employees resistant to change, they think that their position will be threatened and will make them worse off, the same employees that fall into Hersey and Blanchards R3 state of readiness. Misunderstanding and lack of trust employees misinterpreting the reasons behind the change, due to a lack of communication, viewing this change as just one of many For this organisational change to be successful the leader had to reduce resistors and increase drivers for change in an attempt to reach equilibrium. To do this they communicated the benefits of change, through more days off and a better work life balance; however there was an element of manipulation used to show employees that they would have more weekends off. Under the current shift pattern officers received one weekend off in every four, the VSA would allow two weekends off in every five. Look back at the current shift pattern over five weeks, officers were already receiving two weekends off in every five. The leader used this information selectively thus attempting to paint a rosy picture of the benefits of the VSA. A better way may have included an element of participation helping to build commitment to the change and negotiation, which could avoid some resistance from the employees affected by the change. CONCLUSION Drawing a conclusion for this essay, firstly considering the approach to leadership undertaken by the Chief Constable during this, change management situation. In their autocratic (or authoritarian) approach they concentrated in getting the job done and took responsibility for all the decisions made. Had the Chief Constable approached the organisational change according to Hersey and Blanchards situational leadership, identified their officers level of readiness and adopted the suggested leadership style, they may have been faced with less friction or resistance by the officers that would be affected by the VSA implementation. Secondly, in analysing the interpersonal skills and its effect on the organisational change, the Chief constable utilised their legitimate power to achieve the implementation, in adopting an assertion style of influencing with no argument to their request, coupling this with the conflict management style, by firstly avoiding and then competing. Had they followed an alternative style suggested by Thomas (1976) such as accommodating and accepting the existence of conflict or resistance to the VSA, they may have been able to negotiate better with the federation and the officers affected by the change to find out the root causes of conflict and address them at an early stage. Thirdly, considering the Chief Constables role within this organisational change was that of a change strategist, they initiated the VSA and set its direction, posing, as Senior (2002) identifies as a modular transformation to the force. With some officers resisting due to a parochial self interest, whilst others through misunderstanding and lack of trust in this change, the Chief Constable had to reset the balance by education and manipulation, driving his vision forward. One thing certain from this is the Chief Constable requires managers with the skill, knowledge and experience of organisational change, enabling them to have the ability to change and adapt their leadership style to suit each given change management situation. These managers may not be able to ease all of the resistance to change, but should be able to reduce it considerably to implement future changes that are required.

Abstract Paper Co-Curricular Education Essay

The school is â€Å"in a verandah in his father’s palace; Gautama Buddha being instructed, with three other boys, by a Brahmin teacher. On their laps are tablets†¦ caged birds, musical instruments, a battle-axe, bows. Gautama, a prince, was given, along with literary education, education in music and military arts like archery. The making of man was regarded as an artistic and not a mechanical process. Indeed, the aim of education is to develop pupil’s personality, his innate and latent capacity. The academic curriculum has never been all that schools and colleges offer to their students. Often a range of other classes and activities are available to students in class routine and even after school. These are referred to as the co-curricular activities and they are mostly voluntary for students. Examples would include sports, musical activities, debate, Model United Nations, community service, religious study groups, charitable fundraising, Young Enterprise projects, military cadet activities, drama, science clubs, and hobbies such as gardening, crafts, cookery and dance. Co-curricular activities prepare students practically for the future. CBSE refers to Work Experience, Health and Physical education, games, painting, music and art education as Scholastic subjects. Then why importance of these subjects is negligible as compared to Mathematics, Science, Social Science and languages? But, most of the teachers teaching in various schools have no idea about art education, games and other similar subjects. As a result, there are unplanned and un-interesting instructions in the classroom because the teacher has no clue or inclination towards these subjects. There is no plan, criteria or syllabus in schools for these subjects. If you ask an art teacher who has studied art – whether a tree is green or purple? They would say colours show moods, depends which kind of painting you are making both colours could be used. Other teacher who has not studied art would rebuke students and make them colour the tree only brown trunk and green leaves. CCE activities are also a point of discussion amongst the teachers. Cutting and pasting pictures from somewhere is the most common activity done as a part of CCE. Bloom’s taxonomy is taught as a part of B. Ed. education but not implemented. Without effective activities children are not able to create, analyze, solve real life problems, express and innovate. They are scared to take risks and make decisions. If co-curricular activities are coupled with CCE activities then both important aims can be achieved. In-service teachers should be taught to integrate activities of Health, Physical education, games, painting, music and art, craft or dance in their lesson plans. Teachers should know how to include available resources in their everyday lessons but, because teachers are not trained to include co-curricular activities in everyday classroom teachers are not able to use these periods effectively. Most of the teachers are not even aware about what kind of activities could be done in the class, directions and purpose for doing an activity are not clear as a result the main aim of having these activities is defeated. These activities do not need report card to certify because they prepare you for life and not merely for a forthcoming competitive exam. Education requires concentration. Children are thrilled; the day they know they have a routine breaking activity or sports period or even if they get to cut paper, fold paper, sing a jingle, share a joke etc. The activity has to be planned well and then executed. The main concern is that teachers do not use their creativity to build activities according to the level of students. We have to teach students to learn instead of studying, do useful work instead of hard work and develop self-discipline instead of discipline, work voluntarily instead of assigned work*. This can be done only when teachers are trained to do so. According to the changes brought about in CBSE curriculum, changes should be brought about in B. Ed. curriculum. Everybody encourages practice of Yoga. But we do not realize even if students sing they are practicing kind of yoga. They regulate their breath, concentrate and think creatively. They try to create a balance between their bodies, mind and attain self-enlightenment. This is healthy and ensures that students are exposed to practical tasks, not just what is taught in class. Kids don’t come to know how much time they pass while they get lost in their hobbies. Schools cannot make Painters, Sports persons, Dancers etc. but they can help kids to decide their field of choice. The joy of creating something gives happiness. Concentration in a particular activity is like meditation which relaxes students from repeated reading, writing and arithmetic activities. The happiness children get from playing instruments, helping others, dancing or running makes them lively. Most co-curricular activities are physically ctive, getting the student out from behind their desk and making them try new things. All those things which break the monotony of class routine are welcome by kids. It could be an action song, small classroom game, managing the school garden, painting a poster for school competition, modelling clay etc. It teaches students to work in groups, think, take responsibilities, develop social skills, soft skills etc. Schools make infrastructure available to teachers but teachers have no clue how to use it. For example IT infrastructure. In olden days, education systems included Martial arts, drawing, singing, painting, sports and debate etc. as a tool for gaining wisdom, insight, concentration, compassion, mental piece, creativity, stamina etc. For example Buddhist mandala serves as a tool for guiding individuals along the path to enlightenment. Monks meditate upon the mandala, In service teachers when given duties for club activities they are clueless to the new tasks assigned. Even if they know one form of art concretely, they can teach it to students as a part of education. Teachers should concentrate on learning one form of art during their B. Ed. education. When teachers learn one form of art, they will not have to run to Art or Dance teacher every now and then for small ideas. Among the teachers many problems can get solved, school functions can be organized in a better way. Art teachers can get more time to complete their art syllabus in classrooms. In service teachers should be asked to plan activities with their lesson plans. Currently, it is observed that cut-and-stick pictures related to the topic is the most common activity done by teachers. Education must therefore promote and nourish as wide a range of capacities and skills in our children as possible. The gamut of such skills include the performing arts (music, dance, drama, and so on), painting and crafts, and literary abilities (weaving, stories, wielding language to portray different aspects of life, a flair for metaphorical and poetic expression etc. ). Also, skills as diverse as some children’s special capacity to bond with nature – with trees, birds, and animals-need to be nurtured.

The Unnatural Act of Leadership, Book Review Essay

Odilia Bergh, Peachtree City Police Department Human Resource Management and Development The Unnatural Act of Management February 26, 2013 I began this book like most books, with great anticipation that it was going to be amazing, why else would a qualified instructor assign it. I assumed that it would be a shining example of the finest managerial principals in existence all compacted into a simple to read text with plenty of graphs and helpful handouts. I was certain that I would be a more effective leader for having read it.I spent time strategizing how I would write my paper with great enthusiasm. Then, I read the book. In the first few pages I found myself so caught up with the character development that I quickly lost sight of the big picture. I mean how could I be expected to believe that any one person could accurately describe an entire management team with such accuracy. Richard Thompkins’ descriptions and predictions were almost humorous. His intuition into his co-wo rkers was uncanny. From their personal relationships to the weaknesses in one fail swoop. I wanted to meet Richard myself.As the story developed I later appreciated the lack of filler material as the characters were introduced and it also made for a quick refresher when I was trying to predict who was going to be effected next by Brent’s plans. I quickly became invested in the ninety day project. I could recognize this was a process being explained with the assistance of a story, or a true manager refusing to have an editor alter his vision. Regardless, I decided to step back and focus on the big picture, the actual process of examining an existing managerial team and operations to evaluating its effectiveness through strong managerial principals.Off we went. Learning about the people you are working with, their qualifications and personality traits is imperative. Understanding how they’re perceived by their peers is critical. Richard Thompkins’ descriptions wer e no more than his perception regardless how accurate they might have been. The second part of the equation is the one on one interaction with individuals to develop our own opinions and â€Å"assumptions†. As I began to understand the characters I couldn’t help but begin to assign them new names, names associated with people I work with even myself at times.For the sake of this paper I’ll make up names and rank. Moving into the early chapters I found that my Chief aligns himself strongly with many of the theories and practices that Brent spoke of from conducting effective meetings to managing work stress effectively. Unfortunately prior to his arrival our organization struggled to follow some basic principles that are imperative for success. Basics like â€Å"Read, Listen, Discuss, Observe, or Think. † As police officers, â€Å"read† stands out as an exceptional oddity. The term â€Å"assumptions† was also introduced early in the book and I felt it needed to be developed in more detail.In retrospect, I believe I struggled with the actual term used as â€Å"assumptions† as it has always had a negative connotation to me. Who hasn’t heard the phrase, â€Å"When you assume you make and ass out of you and me? † Regardless, I did recognize that assumptions as introduced are made through communication, making it imperative that effective communication occur to reach valid â€Å"assumptions†. As with any ideas or assumptions they can be altered rather quickly by a number of factors that arise. Understanding this and managing them closely will avoid mistakes to having any major or lasting impact.As employees grow and learn, regardless of rank or title, our assumptions of their abilities might lag or be clouded unless we are constantly communicating. I feel that managing by assumptions can be more effective if you understand who you are dealing with, regardless if you like them personally or not. I a lso recognize that assumptions can easily be influenced by emotions if it’s not monitored properly. I can recognize my growth as manager significantly in this area. I pride myself on making good assumptions based on factual information available to me.I value the decision making process more now that I align myself more clearly with upper management than the mind set of line officers. As a first line supervisor I fill in the blanks when the plans and processes have been identified. I recognize the overall need to establish goals and objectives that are clear and measurable but as a first line supervisor I usually find myself making suggestions and providing raw data which is manipulated and interpreted above my position. Chapter six, I read the title and got excited, What is Management and When Are You Managing?Yes, now we are getting somewhere! I found some truth early on, kind of†¦ Stanley had the position that you learn to be a good manager by managing not by going to school. Before I was promoted years ago I had already obtained my four year degree in Business Management and Organizational Leadership so I felt somewhat prepared. Denial is a nice zip code. Within months of being promoted to Sergeant I was escorted to private meeting room by the two senior officers on my newly appointed team. Truly I don’t remember what they said, but the feeling resonates to this day.YOU KNOW NOTHING, BE QUIET, LISTEN, LEARN AND THEN MAYBE WE WILL LET YOU LEAD. I felt humbled, they had been respectful but firm and the message was clear†¦this was going to be much harder than I thought. I agree that it is very unnatural to decide to produce results through others, especially if we’re better qualified to produce them. I had been a â€Å"go getter- kick ass and tell my backup to take names† kind of officer. As a supervisor the concept that others were going to produce results for me was foreign, I didn’t even know it existed. Educati on would have been beneficial at that point but I didn’t learn that in college.So for that continuing education would have been welcomed, however I may have not been ready to learn the lesson regardless if I had heard it. I loved the management term given in this book. â€Å"Management is a mental process of establishing, and then indirectly achieving the right objectives in the right priority sequence and with sufficient resources. † I have got to admit I felt like that was right on. Over the years I have worked on some level of this definition, but found that at times my priorities were off, or my resources were insufficient or simply the sequence was just not right.I have absolutely no problem in making a decision, with haste. Now I can’t guarantee that it will be a correct decision but as the years pass and the management process becomes more clear my assumptions become more accurate. Of course we should all be tweaking assumptions constantly. Recently our o rganization has been revamping tons of policies, to streamline and make things more efficient. One policy stands out when I think if this management term. As a patrol division we now have a written policy that says that no team can drop below the minimum staffing requirement of six officers.As a patrol supervisor my current team only has seven officers assigned with one deployed over seas. Immediately the problem should be apparent. Each officer is required to flex four hours each pay period, attend training, mange overtime, and ensure vacation time is not carried over. I constantly hear other sergeants complaining that they are below staffing and that they can not operate their teams effectively. They constantly deny leave and training requests which only discourages the officers and causes dissent.I strive not to bring any attention to my team’s situation because if you provide a problem to another manager they are going to solve it, but probably not to your liking. I simpl y flex my team out in the early hours of the morning when there’s minimal, to no call load, and they’re tired anyway. I communicate with the traffic unit supervisor to supplement traffic officers to allow my officers time to attend training. Rarely does a traffic officer have to pick up a call but it allows me not to violate the policy intentionally.I understand that resources are limited and I know my commanders are aware of the problem so reiterating it to them seems counter productive and unnecessary because I feel that we have sufficient resources. I was pleased to read the general rule that said, â€Å"the better the manager, the fewer resources required to be sufficient. † Amen. I believe my organization has shifted the mindset to that of one that measures a good manager/supervisor by the results that are being produced indirectly through our managerial resources.Being encouraged to show ownership while expected to shoulder the responsibility is a welcomed change. I agree that a good manager can manage anything. The next section spoke of determining the difference between stubbornness and persistence; I have to admit I began to sweat. Make no mistake I know that I can be stubborn and quite persistent and no one likes to look in the mirror in the morning. But as I read on I breathed a bit of a sigh. I quickly felt safe, knowing that when I make set an objective that I can’t obtain I will not let it ruin me, and I will bow out, gracefully if possible.I attribute this to an older brother that beat me at EVERYTHING my whole life. As for persistence, I think the word I use is â€Å"heart†. If a person has â€Å"heart† they can overcome almost any other deficiencies, from talent to skill and almost common sense (almost). I think of a wonderful officer I had the privilege of supervising right out of the academy. I seem to get the â€Å"tough ones† but being that I thrive when challenged, and lavish in chaos, I wa s pressed to perform. This officer arrived and with a thick accent and introduced himself.Apparently English was his third language, being from Thailand he struggled with the most basic cultural rituals we enjoy. Even Google was a foreign term. Each night we all worked to help him with everything from his radio traffic to his very poor sense of directions. He would fail, miss the mark, slip, forget, get lost, get made fun of, but he never gave up. He arrived early each night and left late every morning. He smiled, thanked those who helped him graciously, smiled at those who hurt him, smiled at those who he could help and had more heart than any other officer I had ever worked with.He constantly asked questions, never fell into despair and with his determination made everyone respect him. His fortitude was impressive. He says I was his mentor and I taught him so much but I can’t take credit for making him successful because to be honest he taught me every bit as much. He made my need to learn patience rewarding. Under other circumstances I would have resented someone that needed so much assistance to simply function as a first responder. He showed me it was worth the time and effort to give people all you can to help lift them up.He made that lesson for me digestible, even enjoyable. I am proud of the officer he is today, so proud I’m writing about him years later while working on a ten page college paper on management. So as the book progresses Brent is starting to show his managers that he can make good assumptions. He values and encourages communications. He strives to include and share his thought process with his staff. Now this is certainly a new concept at my organization. Initially when my Chief would begin to explain his thought process I would grimace thinking that when he finished he was going to yell, â€Å"There ya happy! But he never did instead, he looked at me and would ask what I thought. I remember having to condition myself to be prepared to actually participate in the process instead of simply walking away wondering what in God’s good name is rolling around in that little mans beady little mind. I thought that very thing quite frequently under my old Chief. I on the other hand had been chastised for explaining myself too much and giving too much information to my officers. Apparently just telling them to do something was suppose to be sufficient since they were being compensated so heavily financially.I felt that if your subordinates and supervisors for that matter, knew your frame of mind and your thought process they could better manage their â€Å"assumptions† (hope you’re proud of me for using the term properly). In turn they could predict your decisions more quickly and learn to make better ones themselves as a result. Span of control was a relevant topic that I found mid way through. Recently our organization was restructured, removing three captains from the top of our command structure. As a first line supervisor I was not effected drastically however my supervisor has shifted completely away from his prior position.With no lieutenants on the patrol shift I find myself with more span of control, unfortunately I feel my support is all but gone. I report to someone I rarely see and no longer have immediate feedback. I recognize the change was necessary and I am striving to find a balance. As for Brent by this point he’s gotten the managers in his corner, he‘s taking calculated risks, or should I say managing effectively by assumptions. His leadership has been almost too perfect in my opinion. No big blunders he never misspoke and was always right. After supervising for twelve years I’m going to call the flag.I recognize that my Chief is a good manager because he says that everyone makes mistakes and all you have to do is sit down and watch for a while and you’ll see one. Maximizing Your Leverage with Direct Producers seemed like a lofty way to say, get your people to work for you. The title was a little pretentious but the chapter was actually one of my favorites. As first line supervisors I’ve grown to simply accept that many direct producers (patrol officers) will never develop a good understanding of management so I work towards building the relationship between them and myself to bridge the gap.I have always excelled and developing loyal relationships based on mutual trust. Unfortunately when trust, the foundation for me is missing, the relationship is essentially doomed. It will be superficial and dysfunctional. For this reason I hold honesty, trust, and moral fortitude in the highest regards as I develop relationships with my co-workers. I feel these three ingredients are our water, oxygen and food we need to survive. Regardless if subordinates understand why your asking them to perform a task, they will perform it for no other reason than you have demonstrated your dedicated to their survival .I have learned over the years that I am not responsible for their happiness that is their responsibility. There was a very interesting couple of paragraphs that outlined the differences between supervisors and managers and he hit the nail on the head when he discussed the first line producers view of the two. It is like the twilight zone. I know that my officers see the sergeants as part of the command staff, however, command staff see sergeants more aligned with the officers. This does pose a difficult position for sergeants who are continuously left out of the communication loop.I always say if you want me to manage your rumors you have to feed me some valid information. Without that, I’m forced to manage rumors by more misinformation. At least I can mange my own rumors better than those of others. As a first line manager I have finally figured out that my primary duty is to make my officers feel important. I think that could have summed up that chapter. Considering I have a few pages left I’ll expound a bit since I feel this is where my forte lies. Again, twelve years ago I was clueless; I thought if I could show the guys how great I was they would want to follow me.Instead I learned that if I show them how great they are they will follow me. The biggest compliment I got was when an officer said, in shift change, that he would run into a brick wall if I asked him to. He added that he figured the wall would fall because why else would I order him to go. I was flattered that he would blindly follow my order, however he also indicated that he respected how I make assumptions (I used it again, gotta be worth 10 points). As an inexperienced supervisor I was concerned about each person liking me, the person they were interacting with. I would adjust for each individual subordinate accordingly.I reflect back and can say that that it was not in the way of a servant leader but more of a teenager who wanted to be liked and accepted. With the years I le arned that I was more effective when I was myself. I am a Christian, wife, mother of four, who happens to hold a position at an organization that requires me to guide, teach, and hold myself and others accountable for our actions. That simplified life drastically. I stay enthusiastic about my career, usually. I never ask anyone to do something I’m not prepared to do myself and I accept responsibility when I make mistakes.I respect those who handle my mistake effectively and use them for what they are, chances to learn. I find disciplining subordinates exciting and challenging. Nothing satisfies me more than to handle a discipline session so effectively that the subordinate still wants to engage me in a personal conversation. The Motivation of Inspiration, deep. I mentioned that our organization went though a drastic structure change recently. I also mentioned that I don’t have the luxury of a lieutenant working with me. On weekends I am alone and during the peak hours of 4:30pm to 7:30pm I have no assistance.The lieutenants developed their own hours and selected 7:00am-3:00pm and 7:00pm to 3:00am. However with the limited supervisors their schedules are constantly changing. Upon returning from a 6 weeks recovery from a foot operation I attempted to meet with my lieutenant on several occasions. I wanted to get an official update on how my team had done along with an update on what was going on with the organization. I had been away from work and had developed some doubts about my current career path. After a few days my lieutenant learned that I was meeting with someone above his rank.He came to me and I confirmed that he had not made me a priority. Frustrated and betrayed he told me that making me â€Å"happy was not his job†. I corrected him and assured him he was not responsible for my happiness but was responsible for my career development. I asked him what he felt his priorities were and he wiggled his finger towards the sky in a circl e and said, â€Å"this†. Not clear on his term I asked him to define it. He again said, this, the organization. I asked him to define who he felt made up the organization. He got even more frustrated and raised his voice.I asked him to lower his voice and improve his argument. He said he didn’t know what I wanted from him, adding that I was a sergeant he knew could handle anything. I explained it like this to him. My job is to check and fill my guys’ gas tanks as needed each shift. His job, was to fill mine, and I was running on fumes. I conceded that I was a hybrid and could go farther than others but eventually would need fuel. Now, that doesn’t mean that anything is wrong with my vehicle it just needs to be maintained. I think he understood and we both agreed to keep working on communicating with each other.I also believe that people will rise to our expectations of them, another key element in motivating others. I have seen officers that struggle with other supervisors arrive on my shift defeated, ready to continue their struggles. I like to immediately empower them with some responsibilities. Certainly something they can succeed at, and then shower them with praise. The cycle then continues, elevating their tasks and responsibilities exponentially until they believe in the person I have told them I see. I had an officer who struggled with making decisions and his self esteem was shattered with all the discipline he’d received.Being a very emotional person, he took discipline from his prior supervisor as a personal attack. I immediately gave him the responsibility to inspect vehicles when he arrived on my shift. At first he called with question after question. I encouraged him to complete all his inspections and upon completion we would address any questions he had. Inevitably in meeting with the other seven officers on his team many of his questions were resolved and he arrived with few questions and the completed inspec tions. I praised his resourcefulness and assigned him the task for the upcoming month.He was excited to have a leadership role and began to act accordingly. With time he grew to be confident his decision making abilities and learned to accept discipline sessions from me as learning opportunities. Now this leads me into the marginal employee. They are out there and what a pain! I have learned much when dealing with this mess. For years I had a marginal employee working under me. She was not only marginal but she was high maintenance. Now to correct that statement, she was capable of working hard if she was â€Å"happy†. So what did the under educated but highly experienced supervisor that I was do, that’s right I kept her â€Å"happy†.I managed her emotionally to motivate her professionally. Sounds easy enough huh? Unfortunately maintaining her happiness was utterly draining and was a daily time consuming venture. But I felt that proving that I could get impressi ve results out of a marginal employee would validate my ability to supervise. Boy was I dead wrong. I remember Brent giving the lesson in the book that brought it all back. Put those problems right back on them he explained, remove that unnecessary stress from yourself. I was moved away from that officer and she tanked with the next supervisor.Of course she blamed him but I knew better. In the last month the teams were again moved around and after two years she would be reassigned to me. Believing that I could save her from her impending termination, if she could not turn it around, she began our first conversation with how happy she was to be working with me again, blaming her last supervisors for all her problems. She then admitted that she was upset with me because I had not accepted her Facebook request. I took that very moment to make the path ahead very clear to her. I told her in no uncertain terms that I would not be managing her happiness.I would however be holding her acco untable for her actions. I also told her that my Facebook was not a topic for discussion. She chose to become insulted instead of enlightened. Within three weeks of being reassigned to my shift she resigned after sixteen years. I know I was not the reason, but I also feel she lost the comfort she was envisioning on my team. I must say that although personally I liked this person, as I supervisor I was ecstatic she chose to leave the organization. Conveniently a few chapters later I came across a section to deal with problem employees.I felt enamored with the comment that marginal employees are the greatest waste of time, money and opportunities within an organization. I have learned that first hand. Being that I have reached ten pages and don’t want to be too much of an overachiever I want to focus the criticizing of others and termination of employees. I was very surprised when I read that Barbara was scared to fire Chuck. Barbara’s character development didn’t foreshadow that insecurity. Regardless Brent knew exactly what to say and was able to convince Barbara to handle a situation immediately after their pep talk.Now I can go on and on about several other topics that arose in the latter pages (especially Stress Transfer) but I’m going to close with this, I enjoyed the lessons shared in this book. However I wouldn’t recommend anyone read this book unless they are borrowing it from me. My book has received full scrutiny and I have highlighted all the pertinent lessons, motivational quotes, managerial theories and terms so there is no need to read all the filler. By the way, I truly think that Brent wears Superman underwear everyday.

The United Nations Universal Declaration Of Human Rights

In accordance with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) it is proclaimed by the General Assembly that â€Å"all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights† (The United Nation [UN], 1948). But what are human rights? While they might be a substantially contemporary subject, the worlds first charter of human rights is now identified in 593 B.C when Cyrus the Great; freed the slaves, established racial equality and freedom to choose one’s own religion (Fleiner, 1999) With the emergence of the 18th century’s Age of Enlightenment, the concept of human rights was elevated with strong associations to the philosophy of liberalism, holding connotations of freedom after the abolition of slavery, serfdom and suppression in Europe and overseas (Von Mises, 2005). However when the United Nations drafted and constructed the Universal Declaration of Human rights, it was pledged â€Å"universal respect for and observance of all human rig hts and fundamental freedoms† (UN, 1948). The accentuation of universalism; applicable to all, is the foundation of the UDHR, thus the intrinsic dignity of every human being. Although on the contrary to universal innateness of human rights, is controversial criticisms of the international law’s universality, Makau Matua among many others deem it to be merely one more attempt by the West to perform similarly, modern day colonisation. Chairperson of the Commission of Human Rights and one of the drafters of the UniversalShow MoreRelatedThe Rights Of The United Nations Universal Declaration Of Human Rights870 Words   |  4 PagesAll human beings are born with rights no matter a person’s race, religion, or gender. There are 30 of rights found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). 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The United Nations Universal Declaration Of Human Rights There are many arguments that there will soon be a Third World War. World Wars I and II have been instigated by nations wanting to rule parts of the world. The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has caused many fights and controversy all around the world, possibly igniting World War III. This very dangerous and powerful group has no regard for human rights committing numerous atrocities, including sexual assault and forced marriage, suicide attacks within civilian areas, killings of religious and ethnic minorities, summary executions and beheadings of innocent hostages. Still going on today, ISIS continually captures and abducts civilians who do not conform to their extreme views and execute anyone with different religious beliefs.†¦show more content†¦ISIS’s main goal is to ‘save and transform’ the Arab and Islamic world while implementing their own religious views and beliefs. Taking control over Iraq and Syria, they attack and kill hundreds of men, women and even children based on their religion or ethnicity and recruit children as child soldiers. As individuals are restrained, some are shot in the back in attempt of fleeing their imprisonment, some buried alive and also in mass graves. Continuing ISIS’s mistreatment, they stone men and women accused of adultery, crucify civilians, impose forced marriage, rape and kidnap girls and women for sexual slavery and behead foreign journalists while circulating these videos on social media. These vicious crimes are continuously happening, even today, resulting in numerous human rights violations such as the right to life, no slavery, no torture, no unfair detainment, social security, a fair and free world, freedom to move, freedom of expression and no one can take away your human rights. To reiterate how dangerous and ruthless ISIS really is, they have committed a total of 4 million human rights abuses during the surge in Iraq just in 2014. Originating in 1999 and pledging allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2004, ISIS continues to stack up the atrocious murder numbers. While only cutting the tie with al-Qaeda on the February 3, 2014 and proclaiming to be a worldwide caliphate on June 29, 2014, they claimed formation of