Organizational
Survey: An Overview
THE MICHIGAN REGIONAL COMMUNITY POLICING INSTITUTE
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Strategic planning is a critical component of a police organization’s transition
to community policing. An important step done up front in the planning
process is the use of the Organizational Survey that focuses on personnel perceptions
of key issues relevant to the move to community policing. The survey
is administered to all employees, sworn and non-sworn, within the Department
and consists of 20 dimensions that are assessed to examine the systems, processes
and outcomes relevant to the delivery of police services. Some of these
20 dimensions are: strategic direction, top management, union, rewards,
first-line supervisors, problem solving, effectiveness, role clarity, job satisfaction
and views of the Department and community.
The Organizational Survey is useful in three ways:
- First, the move to community policing can generate both positive and negative
responses on the part of personnel at all levels within the organization. Therefore,
it is important to capture these perceptions early in the transition process. The
results of the survey can then be examined to uncover areas of concern that
must be considered as a part of the strategic planning process for developing
and implementing a community oriented policing delivery system.
- Second, the survey or personnel perceptions provides a baseline measure
of what the key issues and concerns are early in the process of moving towards
community policing. The baseline can then be compared to changes in
perceptions one or two years into the implementation process when the survey
is re-administered. Thus the Organizational Survey can examine changes
in personnel perceptions over time.
- Third, the survey results can be analyzed for differences in perceptions
between civilians, officers, sergeants, and management. The results
can then be disseminated to the department and can open dialogue between
management and other work groups regarding the change to community policing. Thus,
responses to the Organizational Survey can lead to a problem solving approach
between management and the rest of the department as the strategic planning
and implementation processes are pursued.
The completed survey is analyzed by the team at the RCPI and results in scores
for each dimension. A full written report/analysis is returned to the Executive
where it is best utilized by having the management team and supervisors disseminate
the information down the organizational hierarchy. At every level of the
organization personnel can be involved in interpreting the data and developing
plans to make constructive changes that will make the shift to community policing
smoother and more effective.
Phone:
1-800-892-9051
Website:
http://www1.cj.msu.edu/~outreach/rcpi/index.html
For more information contact Jane P. White, Associate Director of the National
Center for Community Policing, or Jerry Boles, Associate Director of the Regional
Community Policing Institute