Abstract
This chapter explores the organisational identity of the British police, which can be understood in both its tacit and its explicit forms. In doing so, it considers the symbolic significance of policing within British culture through an analysis of the imagery of the ‘bobby on the beat’ against the more formal organisational role of the police officer. The power of the police to symbolise the contrasting and conflicting roles of legal actor, law enforcer, state representative and community leaders, for example, is also explored. The chapter therefore seeks to contextualise the changing organisational identity of British policing in order to later more fully understand how new recruits to the police service adapt to their position within the organisation.
Keywords
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Albert, S., & Whetten, D. A. (1985). Organizational Identity. In L. Cummings & M. Staw (Eds.), Research in Organizational Behaviour Volume 7 (pp. 263–295). Greenwich: JAI.
Alvesson, M. (2002). Understanding Organizational Culture. London: Sage.
Alvesson, M. (2013). Understanding Organizational Culture (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
Ashforth, B., & Kreiner, G. (1999). “How Can You Do It?” Dirty Work and the Challenge of Constructing a Positive Identity. The Academy of Management Review, 24(3), 413–434.
Ashforth, B., & Mael, F. (1989). Social Identity Theory and the Organisation. Academy of Management Review, 14, 20–39.
Assmann, J., & Czaplicka, J. (1995). Collective Memory and Cultural Identity. New German Critique, 65, 125–133.
Beck, K., & Wilson, C. (1997). Police Officers’ Views on Cultivating Organizational Commitment: Implications for Police Managers. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 20, 175–195.
Beck, K., & Wilson, C. (2000). Development of Affective Organizational Commitment: A Cross-Sequential Examination of Change with Tenure. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 56, 114–136.
Beetham, D. (1991). The Legitimation of Power. London: Macmillan.
Bergami, M., & Bagozzi, R. (2000). Self-Categorization, Affective Commitment and Group Self-Esteem as Distinct Aspects of Social Identity in the Organization. British Journal of Social Psychology, 39, 555–577.
Bittner, E. (1990). Aspects of Police Work. Boston: Northeastern University Press.
Blau, P. (1964). Exchange and Power in Social Life. New York: John Wiley.
Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and Symbolic Power. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Bower, M. (1966). The Will to Manage. London: McGraw-Hill.
Bradford, B., Jackson, J., & Hough, M. (2014). Police Futures and Legitimacy: Redefining ‘Good Policing’. In J. Brown (Ed.), The Future of Policing (pp. 79–99). London: Routledge.
Brodeur, J. P. (1983). High Policing and Low Policing: Remarks About the Policing of Political Activities. Social Problems, 30(5), 507–520.
Brodeur, J. P. (2010). The Policing Web. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cooper, J. (2014). In Search of Police Legitimacy: Territoriality, Isomorphism and Changes in Policing Practices. Texas: LFB Scholarly Publishing.
Davies, A., & Thomas, R. (2008). Dixon of Dock Green Got Shot! Policing Identity Work and Organizational Change. Public Administration, 86(3), 627–642.
Deal, T., & Kennedy, A. (1982). Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Durkheim, E. (1984). The Division of Labour in Society. Basingstoke: Macmillan. (Original work published 1893).
Gagliardi, P. (1986). The Creation and Change of Organizational Cultures: A Conceptual Framework. Organization Studies, 7(2), 117–134.
Harkin, D. (2015). Police Legitimacy, Ideology and Qualitative Methods: A Critique of Procedural Justice Theory. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 15(5), 594–612.
HASC. (2011). The New Landscape of Policing. London: The Stationery Office.
He, H., & Brown, A. (2013). Organizational Identity and Organizational Identification – A Review of the Literature and Suggestions for Future Research. Group and Organization Management, 38(1), 3–35.
HMIC. (2011). Demanding Times. London: The Stationery Office.
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
Hofstede, G., Neuijen, B., Daval Ohayv, D., & Sanders, G. (1990). Measuring Organizational Cultures: A Qualitative and Quantitative Study Across Twenty Cases. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35, 286–316.
Ipsos MORI. (2016). Trust in Professions. Retrieved from https://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/3685/Politicians-are-still-trusted-less-than-estate-agents-journalists-and-bankers.aspx#gallery[m]/1/
Jackson, J., & Bradford, B. (2010). Police Legitimacy: A Conceptual Review. National Policing Improvement Agency Wiki. Retrieved from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1684507
Jackson, J., Bradford, B., Hough, M., & Murray, K. (2012). Compliance with the Law and Policing by Consent. In A. Crawford & A. Hucklesby (Eds.), Legitimacy and Compliance in Criminal Justice (pp. 29–49). London: Routledge.
Johnson, G., & Scholes, K. (1992). Exploring Corporate Strategy. Harlow: Pearson Education.
Johnson, G., Scholes, K., & Whittington, R. (2008). Exploring Corporate Strategy (8th ed.). Harlow: Pearson Education.
Loader, I. (1997). Policing and the Social: Questions of Symbolic Power. British Journal of Sociology, 48(1), 1–18.
Loader, I. (1999). Consumer Culture and the Commodifcation of Policing and Security. Sociology, 33(2), 373–392.
Loader, I. (2006). Policing, Recognition, and Belonging. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 605(May), 202–221.
Loader, I. (2014). Why Do the Police Matter? Beyond the Myth of Crime-Fighting. In J. Brown (Ed.), The Future of Policing (pp. 40–51). London: Routledge.
Lukes, S. (2005). Power:Aa Radical View. London: Palgrave.
Lynn-Meek, V. (1994). Organisational Culture: Origins and Weaknesses. In D. McKevitt & A. Lawton (Eds.), Public Sector Management (pp. 265–280). London: Sage Publications.
Manning, P. (2003). Policing Contingencies. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Manning, P. (2010). Democratic Policing in a Changing World. Boulder: Paradigm Publishers.
Marenin, O. (1982). Parking Tickets and Class Repression: The Concept of Policing in Critical Theories of Criminal Justice. Contemporary Crises, 6(3), 241–266.
Marique, G., Stinglhamber, F., Desmette, D., Caesens, G., & de Zanet, F. (2013). The Relationship Between Perceived Organizational Support and Affective Commitment: A Social Identity Perspective. Group and Organization Management, 38(1), 68–100.
May, T. (2011). Speech to the Conservative Party Conference. Retrieved from http://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2011/10/04/theresa-may-speech-in-full
Meyer, J., & Allen, N. (1991). A Three-Component Conceptualization of Organizational Commitment. Human Resource Management Review, 1, 61–89.
Millie, A. (2013). The Policing Task and the Expansion (and Contraction) of British Policing. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 13(2), 143–160.
Owers, A. (2012). Independent Oversight of Police Complaints: The IPCC Eight Years On. Retrieved from https://www.ipcc.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Documents/speeches/speech_dame_anne_owers_john_harris_memorial_lecture.pdf
Peck, E., Towell, D., & Gulliver, P. (2001). The Meanings of ‘Culture’ in Health and Social Care: A Case Study of the Combined Trust in Somerset. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 15(4), 319–327.
Peters, T., & Waterman, R. (1982). In Search of Excellence. New York: Harper and Row.
Quinton, P., & Morris, J. (2008). Neighbourhood Policing: The Impact of Piloting and Early National Implementation, Home Office Online Report 01/08. Retrieved from https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/social%20welfare/pdfs/non-secure/n/e/i/neighbourhood-policingthe-impact-of-piloting-and-early-national-implementation.pdf
Rantatalo, O. (2016). Media Representations and Police Officers’ Identity Work in a Specialised Police Tactical Unit. Policing and Society, 26(1), 97–113.
Reiner, R. (2000). The Politics of the Police (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rhoades, L., Eisenberger, R., & Armeli, S. (2001). Affective Commitment to the Organization: The Contribution of Perceived Organizational Support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 825–836.
Sackmann, S. (1992). Culture and Subcultures: An Analysis of Organizational Knowledge. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37, 140–161.
Sargeant, E. (2015). Policing and Collective Efficacy: The Relative Importance of Police Effectiveness, Procedural Justice and the Obligation to Obey Police. Policing and Society. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2015.1122008
Savage, S., Charman, S., & Cope, S. (2000). Policing and the Power of Persuasion. London: Blackstone Press.
Savery, L., Soutar, G., & Weaver, J. (1991). Organizational Commitment and the West Australian Police Force. The Police Journal, 64, 168–177.
Schein, E. (1984). Coming to a New Awareness of Organizational Culture. Sloan Management Review, 25(2), 3.
Schein, E. (1991). What Is Culture? In P. Frost, L. Noore, M. Louis, C. Lundberg, & J. Martin (Eds.), Reframing Organizational Culture (pp. 243–253). London: Sage Publications.
Schein, E. (1992). Organisational Culture and Leadership (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Sillince, J., & Brown, A. (2009). Multiple Organizational Identities and Legitimacy: The Rhetoric of Police Websites. Human Relations, 62(12), 1829–1856.
Smircich, L. (1983). Concepts of Culture and Organisational Analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly, 28, 339–358.
Spencer-Oatey, H. (2000). Culturally Speaking: Managing Rapport Through Talk Across Cultures. London: Continuum.
Sunshine, J., & Tyler, T. (2003). The Role of Procedural Justice and Legitimacy in Shaping Public Support for Policing. Law and Society Review, 37(3), 513–548.
Tajfel, H. (1982). Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations. Annual Review of Psychology, 33, 1–39.
Trompenaars, F., & Hampden-Turner, C. (1997). Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Cultural Diversity in Business. London: Nicholas Brearley.
Tyler, T. (1990). Why People Obey the Law. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Tyler, T., & Huo, Y. (2002). Trust in the Law: Encouraging Public Co-operation with the Police and Courts. New York: Russell-Sage.
Tyler, T., Fagan, J., & Geller, A. (2014). Street Stops and Police Legitimacy: Teachable Moments in Young Urban Men’s Legal Socialization. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, 11(4), 751–785.
Van Maanen, J. (1975). Police Socialization: A Longitudinal Examination of Job Attitudes in an Urban Police Department. Administrative Science Quarterly, 20(2), 207–228.
Van Maanen, J., & Schein, E. (1979). Toward a Theory of Organizational Socialization. In B. Staw (Ed.), Research in Organizational Behaviour (Vol. 1, pp. 209–264). Greenwich: JAI.
Weber, M. (1977). Politik Aals Beruf. Berlin: Duncker and Humblot. (Original work published 1919).
Whetten, D. A. (2006). Albert and Whetten Revisited, Strengthening the Concept of Organizational Identity. Journal of Management Inquiry, 15, 119–234.
Wilson, C. (1991). The Influence of Police Specialisation on Job Satisfaction: A Comparison of General Duties Officers and Detectives, Report No. 109. Adelaide: National Police Research Unit.
Wilson, C., & Beck, K. (1995). The Impact of the Redesign of the Job of General Duties Patrol on the Motivation, Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment of Patrol Officers, Report No. 109.1. Adelaide: National Police Research Unit.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Charman, S. (2017). Organisational Culture and the Policing Organisation. In: Police Socialisation, Identity and Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63070-0_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63070-0_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-63069-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-63070-0
eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)