Personnel Management :Concepts & Police Contexts

Chapter 1Personnel Management :Concepts & Police ContextsIntroduction1. Personnel management concerns with obtaining, organizing, utilising andmotivating the human resources required by an organization. It develops requisiteorganization climate and management styles to promote effective effort of cooperation and trust among all employees. This also helps the organisation to meet itslegal obligations and social responsibilities. To sum up, the personnel managementaims at getting effective results by organizing and directing the co-operative efforts ofhuman beings.The Objectives2. Important objectives of the personnel management are following:(i) To make an effective contribution to the achievements of the organization and tothe fulfillment of its social responsibilities.(ii) To design and develop en effective organization which will respond appropriatelyto change.(iii) To ensure that the activities required to achieve objectives are properly cateredfor.(iv) To group the activities logically together(v) To achieve effective integration of the activities(vi) To ensure that the people in the organization understand and accept theirresponsibilities(vii) To ensure that the organization climate and management style is conductive toenthusiasm, cooperation and trust.(viii) To obtain and develop the human resources required by the organization and touse and motivate them effectively(ix) To ensure that the quality and quantity of manpower is available to meet shortand long term needs.(x) To train and develop manpower to achieve maximum effectiveness(xi) To make the best use of the skills and capacities of employees1

(xii) To provide the optimum amount of responsibility, challenge and opportunity inwork(xiii) To design and implement effective reward and incentive systems(xiv) To integrate and balance individual needs with those of the organization(xv) To create and maintain a co-operative climate of relationships within theorganization(xvi) To develop systems and procedures which will ensure that employees are treatedfairly and equitably.(xvii) To encourage more active and productive participation at all levels(xviii) To enable better two-way communications.(xix) To meet the organization's social and legal responsibilities(xx) To provide ample scope for self-development and job satisfaction(xxi) To provide good, healthy and safe working conditions(xxii) To provide equal opportunity for employment and promotion(xxiii) To provide a reasonable degree of security and continuity of employment(xxiv) To reward employees in accordance with their contribution(xxv) To meet the spirit as well as the letter of the legal obligations of theorganization.The Purpose3. As a result of various activities of the personal management :(a) the organization develops and maintains its effective.(b) the organization obtains, develops and retains the quantity and quality of staff forits present and future needs;(c) the best use is made of staff and the maximum degree of effective effort isobtained from them;(d) constructive and harmonious relationships are established and maintained with thestaff which will encourage the highest degree of cooperation from them;(e) staff are provided with the maximum scope to use their capacities to the full and todevelop within the organisation;(f) equal opportunities are provided to potential or existing employees foremployment or promotion;(g) conditions of employment, employee benefits and working conditions areestablished which will help to achieve the objectives set out above and will also2

mean that the organization meets its social and legal responsibilities towards itsemployees.Role of the Personnel Management4. Main role of the personnel management is to provide advice, services andfunctional guidance which will enable management to deal effectively with all mattersconcerning the employment of people and the relationships between the managementof the organization, the people and the employees. Its overall aim is to make aneffective contribution to the achievement of the objectives of the organization and tothe fulfillment of its social and legal responsibilities. The particular aim is to ensurethat the personnel objectives of the organization are achieved and the performance ofthe personnel functions is judged on the extent to which these objectives are met.Personnel function is a very critical sub-system of enterprise management. Throughplannedassistsacquisition, organizationthe managementobjectives. Itinandmotivationefficientlyachievingofhuman resourcesorganisational goalsitandprovides a systematic opportunity to the organization in criticallyassessing and optimizing human contribution towards organizational effectiveness.Effectiveness Parameters5. Effectivenessof Personnel Departmentdependsupon the following fivefactors.a) Support of top management;b) Organic linkages with other sub-systems of the organization;c) Quality of co-operation from line managers;d) attitudes and insights of departmental functionaries, ande) Formulation and effective implementation of policies, systems and procedures.The Role Profile6. Personnel Departments as a repository of data on the profile, rolesandcontributions of human resources not only acquire pre-eminent position inorganizationalhierarchy,butplays a significantroleinachievingorganisational excellence. Ideally speaking the Personnel Department should playthe following roles:3

a) Advise top management in selecting strategies and approaches that will optimizethe contribution of human resource;b) Formulate long and short range personnel policies, systems and procedures;c) Guide and assist line managers in effective implementation of policies endprogrammes;d) Serve as an effective link between management and employees;e) Improve the quality of information sharing through two-way communications;f) Create an enabling and facilitative climate to optimize employee cooperation,motivation, efficiency, discipline, growth and welfare.g) The personnel department advises on personnel policies, strategies, procedures andmethods and on the approach that should be adopted to deal with personnel, andprofessional relations and the problem thereof.h) The personnel function has to carry out research and keep in touch with currentdevelopments in legislation, social thought, the behavioural sciences and theviews of the stake holder.i) It must normally be aware of what is happening in the outside world, but it must beequally capable of relating environmental changes to the situation within theorganization.j) The personnel function has to keep closely in touch with trends within theorganization measuring its employees' level of morale, motivation, commitmentand general satisfaction with the organization as employers.k) The functional guidance role of the personnel department is to interpret and help tocommunicate personnel policies and procedures approved by top management,and, on behalf of top management, to provide guidance to managers which willensure that the policies and procedures are implemented and maintained.Police Personnel Contexts7. Formulation of personnel policies for police should depend on the followingspecifics contexts of police functional environs.I.Unity of command, centralized authority, rigid hierarchical structure, oneway communication, impersonality, unquestioned compliance of ordersand instructions are some of the significant features of police organization.Police, however, in a democratic set up can neither adopt the ways and4

means of Defence Forces nor have the resources, institutional machineryand infrastructure of the civil organizations.II.In the absence of institutionalized systems and procedures and because ofheavy pre-occupations with operational duties and management of civilcrises from time to time, the staff matters do not receive adequate time andattention they deserve and eventually get pushed into the background. Theexisting personnel policies in the police are generally antiquated, adhocand sketchy and do not do justice to the current and emerging needs ofpolice personnel.III.Any one familiar with the working of the police system in the country willreadily concede that personnel management in police organization lackslong-range planning, scientific exactitude and necessary infrastructure.The situation looks much grimmer, when comparisons are made betweenthe police and other premier organization.IV.We can not run away from the reality that any neglect, adhocism and noninstitutionalized approach towards the legitimate aspirations andexpectations of the police personnel for a better quality of life will havevery grave implications for employee morale, efficiency and the credibilityof the force.Rationale for Personnel Department in Policei.While, work and social pressure on the police personnel, since,independence, have registered a quantum jump in quantitative andqualitative terms due to growth in population, mass education, nedeconomicdevelopment etc., the size of the Force, infrastructural facilities andmanagement systems and procedures have lagged behind. Police officersand staff have to therefore discharge their duties under severe stress andproverbial constraints of human and financial resources.5

ii.Any further neglect of the needs and aspirations of the personnel is boundto have adverse impact on the morale of individual staff and officers andthe effectiveness and credibility of the whole police system. Policeadministrators should initiate certain policy measures to cope with thepresent situation and take pro-active steps to qualitatively improve theworking life of the police personnel.The Mechanism8. Personnel Management Concepts in the police departments are in a vascular focus.Scientific, systematic and broad based concepts and polices couldn't be developed dueto various reasons. This is high time that well developed mechanisms to look aftervarious aspects of personnel management are developed and adopted in the policeorganisations. Following are some of the prerequisites in their contact(i) Set up Personnel Responsibilities Centers : Responsibility Centers forperspective planning, monitoring, evaluation, anticipation and coping with manmanagement problems, issues and challenges should be created in each State andCentral Police Organisations at relevant levels, i.e. State Headquarters, Zone, Rangeand District. This should serve as a nerve centre for feeling the pulse of policepersonnel at all levels and initiate appropriate remedial actions. The PersonnelDepartment in the Police Force should be manned by police officers themselves andshould be headed by an officer of the rank of Add DGP/Inspector General of Policewho should be assisted by appropriate staff and suitable rank of officers at otherlevels.(ii) Modification & Updating of the Rules & Procedures : The antiquated rules andregulations should be updated and modified to reflect contemporary conditions andcircumstances. Man-management manuals should be codified expeditiously andcirculated to all concerned for guidance and effective implementation of personnelpolicies and programmes.6