Leadership and management styles
Leadership is a complex aspect that can be defined from different perspectives. Various scholars have defined leadership in terms of traits, group processes, persuasion and the focal point of group activity. Another view to understanding leadership comes in the form of human relations (Ortmeier & Meese, 2010). The different approaches to understanding leadership yield different styles of leadership. Transformational and transactional styles of leadership and management are some of the widely used approaches to leadership in organizations.
The similarity of the two styles of leadership lies in the fact that the two are defined by the interaction between leaders and the followers. The two styles of leadership are dependent on how the leaders relate to the supporters and the transactions that occur between the two parties (Ortmeier & Meese, 2010).
Transactional leadership is informed of the exchange that occurs between leaders and followers. Here, leaders often make verbal promises to the followers in a bid to gain votes or support. Transactional leadership is mostly common in political offices, where politicians are famed for the ability to be good orators and offer promises to the voters. The voters often judge the suitability of the leader depending on the kind of promises that the leaders offer the people. This style of leadership takes the form of a business transaction, with both parties standing to gain or lose in the relationship. Transformational leadership, on the other hand, focuses less on what is being achieved by both sides, but more on values. The actions of the leaders who adopt this style of leadership and management are guided by strong values (Ortmeier & Meese, 2010). Such leaders often have their focus on the higher needs of the organization and devise ways through which both the leader and the followers can be stimulated to achieve these needs. The leaders who adopt transformational leadership appear to have a charismatic effect on the people. They motivate their followers to rise above their comfort zones in pursuit of higher organizational goals.
A Clear understanding of both transformation and transactional styles of leadership can help in understanding how leaders behave, and what drives them. Given that values drive transformational leaders, they can easily set the ethical codes that members of the organization adhere.
How community policing open door for ethics violations
Many stakeholders have viewed community policing as the most useful tool in fighting crime in the society. It is a tool that offers the platform for more cooperation between law enforcement and the members of the community. Despite the positives that come with community policing, there is the threat of this concept opening the door for various ethics violations.
Like any other profession, Law enforcement has a set of ethical practices that guide the activity of the stakeholders in the profession (Ortmeier & Meese, 2010). Given the freedom that community policing officers are given, they are offered the opportunity to violate the set codes of ethics. The freedom that the officers have removes accountability that is a crucial aspect of ensuring that law enforcement officers behave ethically. It means that the officers involved may engage in various forms of abuse since they are not directly supervised. The unethical behavior here can be seen in unlawful acts such as corruption and illegal arrests.
Community policing, and the close ties that the officers have to politics is another avenue through which ethical violations occur. Officers may take advantage of their power to influence political outcomes and decisions. The cultural diversity of the society is another factor that can open the door for unethical behavior in community policing (Ortmeier & Meese, 2010). Different groups in the society subscribe to various cultural values. The implication is that there is a multiplicity of the codes of ethics observed in a given place. Community policing officers may, therefore, fail to understand the ethical standards that are found in a particular location, resulting in violations.
Reference
Ortmeier, P. J., & Meese, E., III. (2010). Leadership, ethics and policing: Challenges for the 21st century (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Publishing.
