How is communication up and down the ranks of a police organization different from the corporate world? How is it the same? Why is law enforcement structure and organization so much different from the business world? Is this the best way to do this?

In corporate American, leadership and management mean being an example to others and guiding the individuals you supervise to be better employees of your organization. A good leader would know how to use their team of people in an organization to make the organization better, to bring new ideas and way of doing things to the open, and creating new leaders for the future. This is often where the police subculture is so very different. Not only do the agencies promote within more than any corporate organization, but once an officer is in a leadership role they typically make independent decisions of the officers they supervise. This creates a lot of tension in police agencies and can sometimes make the officers ineffective in their jobs. In a doctorial paper by a police supervisor, John Serier II, through extensive interviews of several line officers and supervisors, he found that the primary trait mentioned by line officers of a good supervisor was that they felt that their supervisor cared about them and not just the organization itself. Serier noted that a healthy police department was ready and able to deal with the communities needs with the interruption of discontent within the department.
Police organizations often see themselves as a paramilitary agency and rank means respect, rather than respect being earned. However, and corporate American has already fashioned themselves after this model, there is a certain set of skills that makes a good leader and you can only get them through training and experience together. Most corporate organizations, realizing this, have training seminars or classes in leadership, ethics, effective communication with others, and the list goes on. The same type of training needs to be implemented in the police organization. It is important to the morale of an organization if the leader creates an open forum with subordinates so that they can have input in decision making. Additionally, with the ever changing technology and the need to create more effect policing strategies, a leader must also be able to change with the times and learn how to keep good employees and train upcoming possible leaders to have the same skills.
Previous research has shown that good leaders possess the following traits: * “Charisma-providing vision and sense of mission, instilling pride, gaining respect and trust * Inspiration-communicating high expectations, using symbols to focus efforts, expressing important purposes in simple ways * Intellectual stimulation-promoting intelligence, rationality, and artful problem solving * Individualized consideration-giving personal attention, treating each follower individually, coaching and advising.” (Morreale, 2004)
The focus should be on developing “leadership skills that include the ability to lead change and people, be results-oriented, possess business acumen, build coalitions, and exercise superior communications skills”. (Morreale, 2004) Police officers are individuals who were hired with tax dollars that are hired to serve and protect the population. Because they are always under the public’s microscope it is important that they do the following: * “Strive for organizational transparency * Insist on ethical decisions and integrity * Develop leaders with good judgment and innovation skills

* Make decisions in law enforcement based on facts * Demonstrate planning skills * Use personnel performance appraisals effectively * Manage projects efficiently * Recognize the importance of review and evaluation * Develop strategic thinking and planning skills * Distinguish tactics from strategy” (Morreale, 2004)
The uniqueness of the police subculture also makes it’s conformity to changing times difficult. It’s paramilitary mentality strives for conformity however, college students in the criminal justice field are learning that policing needs creativity to develop new and more effective ways of policing. Degree programs often focus on research development and push thinking outside the box.