NCJ Number
113753
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 36 Issue: 9 Dated: (September 1988) Pages: 75-77
Date Published
1988
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Like profit-oriented companies, police agencies can gain much by building a creative management environment.
Abstract
John Collins, a management consultant, suggests that over-management and over-control stifle creativity and offers guidelines for managing for creativity. Officers should be given more decisionmaking authority. They should be aware of the department's budget and participate in budgetary activities. Employees should assist supervisors in developing proposals and be given enough latitude to get their jobs done. Employees also should be required to recommend solutions to problems they identify. A creative management approach means more freedom and greater responsibility and accountability and results in higher standards. Creativity requries a manager willing to trust people, accept tough questions about old problems, and allow mistakes. Creative management has many rewards for law enforcement. Energetic and assertive officers are more likely to develop leads and informants, create more documentation, and produce better followup and superior outcomes. Creative management stops buck-passing, helps employees learn what it takes to analyze a problem and find a solution, and results in shared responsibility. Illustration.