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Security Management
home page > Unit 12: summing up / study guide
How does the shift to a learning organization play out in terms of the management functions we have studied?
- Problems:
- must reduce high turnover
- security personnel are placed in high-stress situations, must earn trust of clients and co-workers
- even if you want to add high-value-added, high-revenue services, can't if you don't have quality personnel to execute
- danger that a poorly-screened employee may do something dangerous and/or illegal that would hurt the company.
- high turnover may produce "churn"
-- employees simply move from one company to another, resulting
in high costs of discharging old employee, recruiting new one,
plus training.
- New Realities:
- Laws including Title VII of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Americans With Disabilities Act,
and the Age in Discrimination Act of 1967 mean that companies
must avoid either overt practices or conventional practices that
unfairly discriminate against a wide range of groups.
- Laws including Title VII of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Americans With Disabilities Act,
and the Age in Discrimination Act of 1967 mean that companies
must avoid either overt practices or conventional practices that
unfairly discriminate against a wide range of groups.
- New Practices:
- the recruitment process begins with Job Analysis, which involves a systematic and thorough study of specific tasks related to the position, sharpening management's thinking about exactly what the person's role should be, sets expectations for him/her, etc. If the job isn't well defined, you may recruit the wrong person, and/or s/he will become disenchanted. This step is an opportunity to look at the organization's overall needs and how the new recruit can play a critical role in achieving the goals.
- the "realistic job preview" (RJP) gives an applicant a balanced view of both the positive and negative aspects of the job, and can avoid losing good employees soon due to disenchantment.
- training managers to be effective interviewers (for example, not digressing into areas that aren't relevant to the job). Must recognize how their behavior and attitudes can affect interview (such as having a preconception of the ideal candidate, or making a snap decision based on initial introduction).
- using
assessment
centers (used by 62% of cities of 50,000 or more to
screen police and fire applicants). "An assessment center
measures multiple dimensions of the individual being tested.
An assessment center usually has three or more simulations or
exercises. " Rate candidates on each procedure or exercise
used in the center. "When rating the candidate, assessors
do not rate the candidate s against one another. Instead, all
the candidates are compared or ranked against the global standards
that was developed prior to the assessment."
- Benefits:
- better recruits
- Hidden benefits:
- less disenchantment once on the job, because they know what to expect
- opportunity to re-examine what company is doing and its needs, through the job analysis process, then to attract a person who can directly address those needs