Cja/441 Communication Process

Communication Process Paper

Anthony Senn

CJA/444

October16, 2011

Geoff Korous

Communication Process Paper

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the communication process of the Logansport Police Department. To discuss the communication process it will discuss the climate of the organization as a whole and the strengths and weaknesses of the department’s communication process. The paper will discuss the management approach to the organization’s supervisors, managers, and executives contribute to or detract from effective communication within the department.

The overall communication process climate of the department is similar to most other departments. The majority of the communications within the department follow
the chain of command and flow downward to encompass the members of the department. The formal communications of the department which generally include policies, orders, and guidelines that must be adhered to by all members of the department follow the downward flow of communication. With these types of communication the reason for the communication and an explanation to why this must take place is included within the communication. The upward communication that flow within the department are the communication that are use to provide the higher ups with progress reports to what officers are doing, problems that have arisen, or even progress reports on performance of the department. Lateral communication is used within the department by different groups of the department discussing aspects of a case to see if there is anything new in the case or if they may have missed an important key to the case. The communication process of the department encompasses the chain, wheel, and channel networks that permit all members of the department to communicate effectively.

The strengths of the communication process of the department allows for all members of the department to communicate effectively and for the department to work effectively.
The weakness of the department’s communication process is that it may take too long to get an answer to some types of communication due to the fact that it must go through the chain of command to ensure that all policies are
followed.

The management approach of the department’s supervisors, managers, and executives contribute to effective communication within the department.
Without these type of management approaches being put into place it would lead to a breakdown of communication within the department which would lead to the department ineffectiveness to complete its duties. An example of this would be when officers depend on the superiors of the department to pass down the policies and procedures that must be followed to ensure the safety of all officers of the department. Without the approach that is used within the department there would be no set rules for communication for the department and officers would not have all of the information to carry out their duties which might be putting them in harms’ way without the proper knowledge. For example without the proper communication an officer may not know that there is a problem in a certain area of the community with officers being shot at from ambush after a fake call is made. The chief decides that all officers must wear body armor to ensure their safety. Without the proper downward communication and all aspects of management following it an officer does not get the directive and responds to the call without body armor resulting in their death. With the departments communication process it allows the proper communication to get to all members of the department and keeps all members of the department
safe.

In conclusion, the communication process of the Logansport Police Department is like many others. It allows for the upward, downward, and lateral communication within the department. This type of communication ensures that all aspects of the communication process are effective in keeping the department running smoothly. The effectiveness of the department’s communication process depends on the management approach to the communication process. The management approach must be one that ensures the communication process is followed to the letter by all members of the department thus ensuring the safety to all members of the department. Without the proper communication within the department it will allow the department to become ineffective in performing the duties it has and jeopardize the safety of all members of the department. Proper communication process is the key to keeping everything running smoothly when times get tough.

Reference:

Robbins, S. P. & Judge, T. A. (2009). Organizational behavior (13th ed.) Upper Saddle River,

NJ. Pearson/Prentice Hall. Retrieved October 15, 2011, from Axia Ersource CJA/444

Kania, R. E. (2008). Managing criminal justice organizations: An introduction. Newark, NJ:

Lexus Nexis Matthew Bender. Retrieved October 15, 2011, from Axia Ersource CJA/444

Peak, K. (2010). Justice administration: police, courts, and corrections management (6th ed.)

Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson/Prentice Hall. Retrieved October 15, 2011 from

Axia Ersource CJA/444

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Communication Process Paper

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