morale
Police Morale Morale in the workforce has always been an issue, which can seriously affect motivation and consequently productivity. Outside of the commercial world, morale becomes of even greater significance, as there aren’t the same factors that can influence the increase in it. The Police have fluctuated greatly in Morale. ... The question then is, how can we identify factors that indicate the level of morale at any one time. What can then be done with those factors to ensure that morale is maintained at a satisfactory level? ... A discussion on what morale is, is there such a thing and is there really a problem in the Police Service. ... To identify factors that can indicate levels of morale 3. How to influence morale so that it can be improved 4. A case study on the British Transport Police at Cardiff and how morale is there. Applying the indicators and problem solving to increase morale. Is There Really a Police Morale Problem? “Morale low in police department”. “Police rosters to hit morale”. “Police pay dispute: Morale plummets”. It seems that the media is constantly finding stories about morale in police organisations – and almost without exception, morale is said to be low. Most police would, at least, have discussed morale with their mates at some stage during their careers. ... what is your “morale”? Morale defined This was the first question that Dr Carlene Wilson wanted to answer when, in 1991, the National Police Research Unit (now the Australasian Centre for Policing Research) was asked to identify ways to fix the problem with morale in general duties areas when compared with specialist areas. Looking at earlier studies of worker attitudes, Dr Wilson found that morale had been defined as “an attitude of satisfaction with, desire to continue in, and willingness to strive for the goals of a particular group or organisation”. ... So, by definition, morale has two components: response (satisfaction and commitment) and focus (work group, organisation and job). Therefore, it is possible to measure morale by measuring a person’s satisfaction with and commitment to their work group, organisation and job. ... Managing for commitment These findings helped to generate a number of recommendations about how police managers might begin to address the issue of morale in their sphere of influence. ... This research has demonstrated that “morale” is a complex issue. ... Why morale matters ‘Morale’ is not a simple concept. ... These outcomes include: · Whether employees stay with the organisation · Whether they achieve organisational or personal goals · Whether they are able to adopt new working practices and learn new skills · How they respond to customers It is a useful start to identify specific outcomes of morale, which the organisation wishes to address. A recent study suggested three common strands to a strategy for influencing morale. They were the ability to: · Anticipate likely employee response · Identify interventions to impact morale · Monitor and evaluate morale and the impact of actions taken. Interventions to build morale It is difficult to target interventions with any precision to influence morale. ... Reward strategies may also need realigning, but there is a lack of clarity at present about the link between alternative reward strategies and morale. ... Monitoring and evaluation Evaluating the success of attempts to influence morale during downsizing is not easy. ... Also we know relatively little about cause and effect in the area of morale. ... Many managers believe — or like to believe — that the general level of staff morale is outside their control. There are indeed many limitations to controlling morale including the variation in individual response, the impact on individuals of what they see happening to other employees, and the variation in response over time. ... In spite of the difficulties of evaluating the impact of specific responses on morale, organisations are using a range of measures to monitor some of the outcomes of morale. ... Upward feedback is another way of collecting information on employee morale and response to initiatives. ... This report has started to examine some of the ways in which organisations are seeking to combat the more detrimental effects of staff reductions on the morale of those who remain. There are inherent limitations to controlling morale, and to our understanding of cause and effect in this area.