DECISIONMAKING AND THE POLICE MANAGER - THE APPLICATION OF BOUNDED RATIONALITY AND PERSPECTIVES FOR IMPROVEMENT

• NCJ Number: 58220
• Journal: Journal of Police Science and Administration Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Dated: (JUNE 1979) Pages: 236-240
• Author(s): R J MEADOWS
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 5 pages
• Corporate Author: International Assoc of Chiefs of Police
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THE DECISIONMAKING PROCESS, TYPES OF POLICE DECISIONS, APPLICATION OF THE DECISIONMAKING MODEL, AND CONCLUSIONS ARE DISCUSSED.

Abstract

ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONMAKING PERVADES ALL LEVELS OF A POLICE AGENCY. THESE ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS SET POLICY AND EITHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY AFFECT THE QUALITY AND DIRECTION OF THE AGENCY. DECISIONMAKING HAS BEEN DEFINED AS THAT THINKING WHICH RESULTS IN THE CHOICE AMONG ALTERNATIVE COURSES OF ACTIONS; IN A MUNICIPAL POLICE AGENCY, DECISIONMAKING IS BOTH A DYNAMIC AND A CONTINUAL PROCESS. THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF DECISIONS WHICH CONCERN THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF A POLICE AGENCY, STRATEGIC AND TACTICAL. THE STRATEGIC DECISION CONCERNS LONG TERM GOALS OF THE ORGANIZATION, SUCH AS OPERATING PROCEDURES. SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND LEGAL CONSTRAINTS AFFECT STRATEGIC DECISIONS. IN CONTRAST, TACTICAL DECISIONS, USUALLY MADE BY MIDDLE MANAGEMENT SUPERVISORS, INVOLVE SHORT TERM OBJECTIVES, SUCH AS EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCE RESOLUTION AND ROTATION OF PERSONNEL ASSIGNMENTS. IN THE BOUNDED RATIONALITY APPROACH, THE POLICE CHIEF IS LIMITED BY THREE BASIC FACTORS WHICH AFFECT THE NATURE AND QUALITY OF DECISIONMAKING. FIRST ONE IS LIMITED BY SKILLS, HABITS, SUBCONSCIOUS REFLEXES, MOOD, HEALTH, AND DEMEANOR AS WELL AS MATURITY AND JUDGMENT. SECOND, THE INDIVIDUAL IS LIMITED BY HIS EXTENT OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE RELEVANT ISSUES AND ORGANIZATIONAL FUNCTIONS. A MORE TRADITIONAL POLICE CHIEF, FOR EXAMPLE, MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH CONTEMPORARY METHODS OF POLICE OPERATIONS SUCH AS MINORITY RECRUITMENT AND CRIME PREVENTION. THIRD, THE POLICE CHIEF MAY BE INFLUENCED BY VALUES, PERCEPTIONS, BELIEFS, AND EXPERIENCES WHICH ARE UNIQUE TO THE INDIVIDUAL. THIS THREE-DIMENSIONAL CONCEPT OF BOUNDED RATIONALITY EXPLAINS WHY CERTAIN DECISIONS ARE MADE IN PARTICULAR SITUATIONS; MANAGERS AND SUBORDINATES ALIKE MUST RECOGNIZE THIS PRINCIPLE TO ENSURE MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD MAKE EVERY EFFORT, THROUGH PROPER ASSESSMENT AND SCREENING, TO SELECT MANAGERS WHO HAVE BROAD-BASED EXPERIENCES AND WHO HAVE PROVEN THEIR COMPETENCE IN SUPERVISORY ROLES. FOOTNOTES ARE PROVIDED. (LWM)