As chief of police, you are in negotiations with the union, representing officers within your department. After a heated discussion, you lose your temper and make comments that you feel were out of line. You have been known to be very supportive of officers within your department in the past. One of the issues during the negotiating session was the use of bulletproof vests for road patrol. Based on your research and talking with chiefs in other departments, you feel that the wearing of vests should be required of all officers in your department, as opposed to the current policy of leaving it up to the individual officer’s discretion. You direct your secretary to type up a memo for your signature and have her post it on the bulletin board in the squad room.
You then leave for a 2-week vacation. The memo states: “Effective immediately, bulletproof vests will be issued and worn by all road patrol officers, beginning next week. By order of the Chief of Police.” When you return from your vacation, you find that a grievance has been filed based on your memo.
Based on your readings of the material in the text and using credible research on the Internet, respond to the following:
- Identify and discuss any problem(s) that might come about as a result of the communication process between the chief of police and the patrol division.
- Do you believe that the communication process utilized by the chief of police was an effective way of communicating this information to the officers? Why or why not?
- How important is timing in the communication process? Be specific.
- Identify and discuss some of the major barriers to effective communication between unions and administration.
- How would you overcome these barriers? Explain in detail.
- What channels of communication would you utilize to implement this change in policy?
- How would you effectively implement these channels? Explain in detail.
