Try to find a department that does not have a morale problem. They exist, but are very rare. Like most people, cops are usually guilty of complaining and complaining, rather than offering to get involved and make a situation better. I know… a lot of people say no one is going to listen, nothing is going to change, or the brass doesn't care.
The truth is that we can be our own worst enemy by buying into the cynicism and never trying to make things better. Attempting to make the culture where you work more honest, fair and ethical is a task worth trying. To make it a bit easier, this article is written in a way that you can use the body of it in a memorandum to the administration, a memo that literally provides the steps for developing a culture that is not divided by the classic "us versus them" phenomenon or one where most officers do not think the agency is run by favoritism.
The term "organizational culture" means a system of common values and beliefs that influence the behavior of employees. It is the workers' perception of what they think of themselves and how they are treated. Workplaces have both a general culture and subcultures. Every unit, squad, division and shift has its own culture. For a culture to be healthy, ethics has to be interwoven throughout the everyday activities of those who work there. Its significance can not be overstated.
Albert Einstein, known for his wisdom, studied the importance of maintaining an ethical culture. On the 75th anniversary of the New York Society for Ethical Culture, he stated "Without ethical culture there is no salvation for humanity." It makes no difference whether the culture is within a government or a corporation; the benefits are enormous. Greg Heaps, the chief operating officer of the Allegiance Corporation, acknowledged this in his remarks" "Research has consistently proven that developing an ethical culture where employees are respected, corporate values are emphasized and management leads by example can help stimulate growth, innovation and higher profitability." For government entities, the benefits are better productivity, morale, teamwork and integrity.
Steps for Developing an Ethical Culture
The brevity of an article does not allow for any of the steps to be explained in depth. Feel free to contact me and I will provide a more thorough explanation of any or all of the ways to develop or sustain a culture of ethics.
Step One: The Sincere Support of the Chief Administrator
Chief administratorsare the key to success or the catalyst for failure, as they who control the tone of the organization. They are the ones who role-model the ethical atmosphere and culture. Without acquiring the true "buy in" and support, the changes needed to develop a valid ethical culture will not occur. Most employees feel more negative stress from the leadership of their own workplace, rather than simply carrying out their job responsibilities. Without working to resolve the reasons for this in a particular organization, any effort to develop an ethical culture may be received as major hypocrisy.
Step Two: Establish an Ethics Team
Virtually any task can be accomplished better with an effective and efficient team, than by someone working alone. Though teamwork is superior to individual effort, it cannot reach its greatest potential without team members understanding their responsibilities. Ethics teams or committees comprised of motivated volunteers can play a vital role in achieving a culture where anyone would want to work.
Step Three: Write Your Own Department Code of Ethics
Led by the ethics team, write your department's own code of ethics. Get the entire organization involved. It will lay a foundation for your establishing a new, organizational culture; one that is driven by ethics, honor and honesty. The code should include a set of defined values. These values are a testament about how everyone who works in the organization will treat each other. Without values such as fairness, honesty, respect you can't have an ethical culture. Making a written commitment is a giant step forward.
Step Four: Identify your Organization's Cultural Needs and Strengths
If you don't actually know what your cultural needs are, how do you know the actionsyou are planning arethe right thing to do? The solution is to conduct a needs assessment. It is one of the essential "first steps" for establishing a culture of integrity. An ethicsneeds assessment is the collection of a wide assortment of information concerning the needsof an organization. Just as with other types of needs assessments, it will tell you the difference between what they are actually doing and what workersshould be doing. The basic methods are interviews, confidential surveys, records analysis and examinations.
Step Five: Training
Starting with the top leadership, initial training needs to inform everyone of the purpose, benefits, goals and plan for enhancing the ethical culture. The findings of the ethics needs assessment should also guide the presentations' objectives. Instruction for leaders must be customized and convey that any leadership which is not respectful and fair will not be tolerated. Administrators must be prepared to discipline any leader who violates this mandate.
After all employees have received initial training, instruction designed to promote teamwork, honesty and self-accountability should follow. Particular emphasis must be placed on facilitating open, honest discussion about not only the reasons for the initiative, but the ethical weaknesses of the organization. Feedback received during training should be viewed as a needs assessment. Communication and motivation are particularly important topics.
Step Six: Improved Communication
Poor communication is the "root cause" for most relationship problems. Furthermore, at the heart of inept communication there is usually a lack of trust. Ineffective communication is one of the most significant and pervasive workplace needs because it is a complex problem and requires a solid, multifaceted solution which explains procedures and policies.
Step Seven: Self-Accountability
It is unlikely that employees will ever hold themselves accountable for their behavior unless it is role-modeled by leaders. The initial step to achieve a culture of self-accountability is for administrators to acknowledge and correct the flaws of the current discipline system. Second, administrators openly hold themselves accountable for honestly addressing any other obvious ethical problems. Third, constantly track statistics that indicate levels of integrity and hold supportive meetings to address the data. Lastly, transform the view of administrators being adversaries to where employees want to hold themselves and fellow workers accountability for their actions
Step Eight: Praise and Recognition
Formal ways of giving recognition and praise such as employee of the year are not as effective as regular informal methods, which come in many varieties. Workers need to be asked their opinions about decisions which will impact their jobs. Line supervisors need to appreciate how crucial it is for them to bestow praise when it is deserved. When praise and recognition are consistent and deserving it is a powerful element of an ethical culture.