Job Requirements Analysis for Police Officer - HR Case Study Example

Job (Job Title) Chosen for Study and Reasons for Its Choice

The job of policing is one of the most dynamic occupations in the world today. Various factors, which have imperatives on the nature of public security and the work of police officers, continue to evolve. For instance, the rise in technology has been both a blessing as well as a curse to police departments in virtually every society (Adams, Rohe, & Arcury, 2002). The emergence of real-time communication platforms which are difficult to monitor proactively such as the social media and the manufacture of smaller weapons of mass destruction which can be easily sneaked during planning for a crime continue to change the arrangement and intelligence role of police personnel (Adams, Rohe, & Arcury, 2002). Furthermore, the modern innovations have resulted in various ways of identifying, tracking and destroying criminal networks before they wreak havoc.

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The developments in crime environments have caused significant changes in the roles and expectations of the security personnel throughout the world. In such an evolving career environment, it is important that the police service implement overreaching job reformations and strategic planning which are necessary in establishing a highly flexible and responsive service (Adams, Rohe, & Arcury, 2002). Contrary to this expectation, incidences of laxity in the recruitment processes, unnecessary bureaucracy, and inadequate equipment of officers, which impede their performance, are recorded. Therefore, it is important to assess the job requirements for a police officer in the current society. This evaluation premises on the fact that the internet and different forms of technology have resulted in complex communication frameworks that challenge the effectiveness of traditional aspects of policing thus necessitating a proximate response to designing roles and requirements for prospective and active police officers.

Methods Used In Arriving At the Focus on Job Requirements Analysis for Police Officer

Multiple methods informed the choice of job requirements analysis for a policeman. These approaches include a review of secondary information, observation, and interviews (Brannick, & Levine, 2002). Through the review of prior information, it was easy to develop links between the responsibilities that the police officers have, limitations to their achievement and the results of the interactions between the two. For instance, it was evident that crime has changed with the gradual transformations in technology, but this has not changed at the same rate as police capacity thus influencing the achievement of their goals.

Interviews of police personnel who are currently in service provided a succinct impression of the responsibilities with which they are tasked and the level of support that they receive, the challenges they face and how these multiple factors operate to determine the levels of their achievements (Heneman, Judge, & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2003). A review of these responses provided a basis on which to draw a job requirement criterion. The approach integrates knowledge, skills, abilities, and others in the recruitment process to develop a team that is not only resilient to the identified problems in the force but also able to capitalize on existing opportunities to ensure successful policing (Brannick, & Levine, 2002). Through observation, it was easy to identify the errors common with the process of police recruitment and deployment.

Despite the fact that crimes and criminal activities have continued to change, recruiting processes seem to be primarily focused on the physical abilities of new police officers. Furthermore, it was also evident that different flaws undermine the concept of job requirements for police officers, which should ideally include talent attraction, engagement, and retention. These aspects form critical strategic imperatives that assist in policing success.

Sources of Information Used

The analysis of police job requirement used two primary sources of information, which include a duty incumbent (service officer) and a job analyst. The police serve or departments are complicated with different restrictions that require expert always with accurate information about how they operate and who can work efficiently with the human resource officer to evaluate the critical occupational aspects (Heneman, Judge, & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2003). I used two analysts to help develop a comprehensive insight into the different career expectations of police officers and the proximate requirements that come with such roles within a changing security environment. The choice of two analysts for this process who independently evaluated the task statement of police officers in light of their inclusiveness and clarity was necessary to attain a high reliability (Heneman, Judge, & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2003). In essence, one expert served as a control for the other hence in cases of job requirement results that were contradictory; task statements would be collectively reviewed to determine any significant disparities.

Some of the specific areas of concern that the analysts were to focus on include duties, accountability areas, responsibilities, and performance dimensions. Nonetheless, differences in evaluation results were not treated as implying an error but an indication of the particular ways in which analysts perceive various career demands which are in itself a source of diversity (Schneider & Konz, 1989). On the other hand, the in-service police were also asked their conception of their work environments. The responses were treated like the individual tasks statements, which would sometimes have varying levels of disparities. However, these differences in responsibilities statements are not express expressions of misconceptions among people within the same service. Such variations were acknowledged as expressions that different police officers in the same working conditions would perform their tasks differently. Therefore, the final job requirements analysis was designed in such a way that precisely captures the varying perspectives (Heneman, Judge, & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2003). One positive aspect drawn from using the incumbent police officers is that they were overly familiar with the tasks, KSAOs, and job context. The underpinning for the inclusion of the incumbents various statements is that relegating them would otherwise lead to an overly narrow set of desired KSAOs for police officers.

The Process Used For Gathering, Synthesizing, and Reporting the Information for Job Requirements Analysis for Police Officer

The process of information gathering, synthesis, and reporting involved various initiatives. First, I met the department head of a state policing officer whose identity has been withheld in this analysis due to the sensitivity of confidentiality in the police service. This meeting was intended to draw a consensus with the police management through sharing the intricacies that the analysis would expect to assess (Schneider & Konz, 1989). The ideology behind sharing the project with the senior police heads is that the issue of public security and intelligence is a critical aspect of the socio-economic and political development of any country hence any processes that involve gathering pertinent information such as job requirements must first be deemed not to undermine the integrity of the service.

The second step included the gathering of information about the current nature of the police serving in light of changes in the criminal environment to which they should respond proactively. The police websites, job advertisements, incumbents and job analysts were critical at this step (Schneider & Konz, 1989). The third phase was the development of task statements, presenting them to the senior police officers and incumbents for approval. The fourth was inferring necessary knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics required for an active police officer. The fourth phase involved review and reframing of the KSAOs with the incumbent officers. The sixth stage was getting approval from the senior security personnel and service men about the KSAOs. Finally, I developed the final job requirements matrix that captures the very aspect of the job of a police officer.

References

Adams, R. E., Rohe, W. M., & Arcury, T. A. (2002). Implementing community-oriented policing: Organizational change and street officer attitudes. NCCD news, 48(3), 399-430.

Brannick, M. T., & Levine, E. L. (2002). Job analysis: Methods, research and applications for human resource management in the new millennium.

Heneman, H. G., Judge, T., & Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D. (2003). Staffing organizations. Mendota House.

Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2006). Human Resource Management: Gaining a competitive advantage.

Schneider, B., & Konz, A. M. (1989). Strategic job analysis. Human Resource Management, 28(1), 51-63.