The aim of this report is to assess and evaluate the current management of human resources within the Metropolitan Police Service providing an insight on the current HRM situation and how that compares to relevant theory giving rise to possible recommenda

Authors Avatar

FdA Business and Management

Bournemouth University Partner Colleges

University Centre Yeovil

HRM within The Metropolitan Police Service

(Human Resource Management 1)

Beverley Cox

Unit Leader:  Brian Doidge

Page        Contents

  1.         (a)        Introduction

        (b)        The Organisation – The Metropolitan Police                

        (c)         Macro Environmental Factors Affecting HRM within the MET

  1.         (d)        Which Management Theory is Relevant to the MET
  1.         (e)        What can be done to Counteract the Impact of the Macro                         Environment        

14.        (f)        Conclusion

15.                Bibliography

18.                Appendices


  1. Introduction

Human Resource Management is the effective practice within an organisation to ensure that people resources facilitate the achievement of that organisation’s goals (Armstrong, 2009).  The aim of this report is to assess and evaluate the current management of human resources within the Metropolitan Police Service providing an insight on the current HRM situation and how that compares to relevant theory giving rise to possible recommendations for the future.

  1. The Organisation – The Metropolitan Police Service

Founded by Sir Robert Peel in 1829, the Metropolitan Police Service began life with 1,000 officers policing an area circa 7 mile radius from Charing Cross, London.  Today, the Metropolitan Police Service employs more than 32,500 officers together with about 14,200 police staff, 230 traffic wardens and 4,300 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) as well as being supported by more than 5,000 volunteers.  The area now covered by the Metropolitan Police Service (“the MET”) covers 620 square miles and a population of 7.2 million compared to less than 2 million in 1829 (met.police.uk, 2011).

  1. Macro Environmental Factors affecting HRM within the MET

The influence of the external environment on HRM is important as any change in the external environment of an enterprise can have a profound impact on the personnel. These changes include technological advances, cultural and social changes, changes in the policies of the Government, politics and the like which all affect the level of productivity within an organization.  

Redman and Wilkinson (2009) concurred through their research that a number of changes have taken place in the values, aspiration and position requirement of human resources due to changes in technological innovations, demands of the Government, trends in employee roles, changes in the values of the workforce, demands of employers and changes in structure of employment.   With this in mind and in order to identify the macro environmental factors that influence the management of human resources within the Metropolitan Police Service, a PESTLE model can be used:-

Political

Economic

Sociological

Technological

Legal

Environmental

The PESTLE model is an important tool which helps organisations analyse the environment in which they operate to aid effective strategic decision making (CIPD, 2010).  The completed PESTLE Analysis can be found at number 2 in the Appendices.

What is clear from the PESTLE in this case is that The Metropolitan Police Service is majorly affected by the Government.  Whether it be by cuts to funds, by updating existing legislation or producing new legislation the Government is the main player when it comes to macro forces impacting upon human resources within the Metropolitan Police Service.  All organisations within the public sector are affected by the Government.  It seems that the Metropolitan Police Service have strategies in place for possible changes.  For example, their internal newspaper “The Job”, provided information of their three year strategy that had been put in place due to the 2012 budgetary cuts.  Their main aims were to cut crime, cut costs and continue to develop the organisation’s culture by operating in a more dynamic decisive way.  DAC Kavanagh is quoted to have said “by operating in a more dynamic decisive way, the best officers, the best staff and the best leaders will get us through it as these initiatives make the most of their skills and qualities” (The Job, 2012).  BUT, does this mean that only those employees seen as “the best” will be cherry picked to keep their jobs during tough times while others become redundant or take pay cuts to create savings for the force?  There does not seem to be any clear outline of what the above statement actually means for employees of The Metropolitan Police Service so do they even know themselves? This must be taken into account when managing their resources.  If an employee’s future is insecure then this will affect productivity through the effect on their motivation.  

Join now!

Another point that comes to light is that, although the London Olympics are an exciting opportunity for employees of the MET, surely with budget cuts that mean pay cuts and job losses when the force is already going to be stretched to cover this event, morale must be affected.  The HR Manager must take all of these factors into account in order that he may motivate the employees to meet the MET’s desired objectives as stated above (Cole, 2003).


  1. Which Management Theory is Relevant to the MET?

There are several management theorists whose contributing theories may ...

This is a preview of the whole essay