CONFLICT MANAGEMENTAnd the PNP Disciplinary

Mechanism

By: Rico T. MusongMscrim Student

Introduction:• Leadership, decision-making and communication

are essential processes in the police organization. There is no doubt that the daily work of a policeman is intensely based on interpersonal relationships and exchange of information; this is the way networks are developed and maintained and actions are enacted.

But, interpersonal relationships also open the door for potential differences and disagreements to creep into the police department causing difficulties that affect not only work performance and their satisfaction but also their dealing with people – their constituents.

Basic Concept:

“The goal of organizational leadership is not to eliminate conflict, but to use it.”

“Conflict is a predictable social phenomenon and should be channeled to useful purposes.”

What is CONFLICT?

It is a situation in which two or more people disagree over issues of organizational substance and/or experience some emotional antagonism with one another.

It is also the arousal of two or more incompatible motives which cannot be pursued simultaneously.

What Do You Think when you hear the word . .

CONFLICT

What do you think and what images come to you . . .

What Do You Think?

Conflict in the Police Workplace

Substantive Conflict Emotional Conflict

Levels of Conflicts

Intrapersonal Conflicts Interpersonal Conflicts Intergroup Conflicts Interorganizational Conflicts

Faces of ConflictsConstructive Conflict Destructive Conflict

CONFLICT SITUATIONS Vertical Conflict – occurs between hierarchical

levels and commonly involves superior-subordinate disagreements over resources, goals, deadlines or performance results.

Horizontal Conflicts - occurs between people or groups at the same hierarchical level and commonly involves goal incompatibilities, resource scarcities or purely interpersonal factors

Line-Staff Conflict – occurs between line and staff representatives and commonly involves disagreements over who has authority and control over certain matters, such as personnel selection

Role Conflict – occurs when the communication of task expectations proves inadequate or upsetting and commonly involves uncertainties of expectations and incompatibilities of expectations

Conditions that Create Conflict Work flow Interdependence – when an

officer or group rely on task contributions from one or more others to achieve its goals.

Power or Value Asymmetries – exist when one or group substantially differ from one another in status and influence or in value.

(ex. When one low rank officer needs the help of a high-ranking officer who will not respond)

Role Ambiguity – lack of adequate task direction or clarity of goals. Conflict occurs in situations where it is difficult for them to understand just who is responsible for what.

Resource Scarcity – lack of or poor allocation of resources. ( when people sense the need to compete for scarce resources, working relationship most likely to suffer)

Stages of Conflict

Antecedent Conditions

Perceived Conflict Felt Conflict

Manifest Conflict

Conflict Resolution

Conflict Aftermath

Antecedent Conditions – basis of the conflict – from different sources.

When emotional differences between officers occurs, perceived conflict exist.

There is also difference between perceived conflicts and the stages of felt conflict.

When these conflicts are openly expressed in behavior, it is said to be Manifest Conflict

It can be resolved by removing or correcting the antecedents.Unresolved conflicts of any type can result in sustained

emotional discomfort and stress and escalate into dysfunctional relationships between officers and work units.

In contrast, truly resolved conflicts may establish conditions that reduce the potential for future conflict.

CONFLICT MANAGEMENTWhat is Conflict Management? It is the utilization of all available

resources (personal or organizational) in dealing or resolving incompatible or inconsistent situations.

Conflict Resolution – occurs when the reasons for conflict are eliminated

Personal Approaches to Conflicts

• Personal Conflict Styles

1Competitor

(Tough battler)

2Collaborator

(Problem Solver)

3Avoider

(Interpersonal Complier)

4Accommodator

(Friendly Helper)

5Compromiser

People have preferred ways of handling conflict, or at least habitual ways of dealing with conflict like

Cell 1 – Competitor (Tough Battler) The person who employs this style pursues his or her own concerns somewhat ruthlessly and generally at the expense of other members of the group. Winning is the only worthwhile goal.

Cell 2 – Collaborator (Problem Solver) – The person who employs this style seeks to create a situation in which goals of all parties involved can be accomplished. He works at finding mutually acceptable solutions. Winning or losing is not part of his way of looking at conflict.

Cell 3 – Avoider (Impersonal Complier) – the person who employs this style tends to view conflict as unproductive and somewhat punishing thus he gets away from an uncomfortable situation by refusing to be concerned. The result is usually an impersonal reaction to the decision and little commitment to future actions.

Cell 4 – Accommodator (Friendly Helper)- the person who employs this style is somewhat nonassertive and quite cooperative, neglecting his or her own concerns in favor of others. He feels that harmony should prevail and that anger and confrontation are bad.

Cell 5 – Compromiser – the person who employs this style assumes that everyone involved in a disagreement stands to lose, and he or she works to help find a workable position. A pattern of “giving-in” often develops.

Indirect Conflict Management Approaches

Appeal to Common Goals – involves focusing the attention of potentially conflicting parties on one mutually desirable conclusions

Hierarchical Referral – uses the chain of command for conflict resolution, the problems are referred up the hierarchy for more senior officers to reconcile

Organizational Redesign – allows groups and units to operate in relative isolation from one another, thus conflict tend to be muted.

Options: 1. Decoupling – separating or reducing the

contract between two or conflicting group. 2. Buffering – inventories that reduces

conflict when the inputs of one group are the outputs of another group.

3. Liaison Groups - groups that coordinate activities of units to prevent conflicts between them.

Direct Conflict Management Techniques Lose-Lose Conflict – occurs when nobody

really gets what he/she wants. Techniques: *Avoidance – everyone pretends

that conflict doesn’t really exist and hopes that it will simply go away.

*Accommodation or Smoothing – playing down differences among conflicting parties and highlighting similarities and areas of agreement.

*Compromise – party involve gives up something they value to resolve the conflict.

Win-Lose Conflict – occurs when one party achieve its desire at the expense and to the exclusion of another.

Technique:*Competition – victory is achieved

through force, superior skill or domination. *Authoritative Command – formal

authority dictates a solution and specifies what is gained and lost by whom.

Win-Win Conflict – uses collaboration to address the real issues in a conflict situation and problem solving to reconcile differences.

Techniques:*Collaboration – involves recognition by all the conflicting parties that something is wrong and needs attention through problem solving.* Problem-Solving – gathering and evaluating information in solving problems and making decisions

The ultimate test for a WIN-WIN solution is whether or not the conflicting parties are willing to say to each other:

“I want a solution that achieves your goal and my goal and is acceptable to both of us”

“It is our collective responsibility to be open and honest about facts, opinions and feelings”

When to use Conflict Management Styles? Collaboration and Problem Solving – should

always be used to gain true conflict resolution, time and other circumstances permitting.

Avoidance – maybe use when an issue is trivial or more important issues are pressing to let people cool down and regain perspective

Authoritative Command – may be used when quick and decisive action is vital or when unpopular actions must be taken.

Accommodation – may be used when conflict issues are more important to others than to oneself or when a person wants to build “pogi-points” to use it on later issues.

Compromising – may be used for temporary settlements to complex issues or to arrive at expedient time solutions when time is limited.

SOURCES OF CONFLICT:

PNP DISCIPLINARY MECHANISM

The basis for the higher police management level that can impose disciplinary actions against their subordinates and other disciplinary mechanism in the police services is provided in Section 41 of Republic Act No. 6975, as amended by Section 52 of Republic Act No. 8551 to read as follows:

"SEC. 41(a). Citizen's Complaints. – Any complaint by a natural or juridical person against any member of the PNP shall be brought before the following:

"(1) Chiefs of Police, where the offense is punishable by withholding of privileges, restriction to specified limits, suspension or forfeiture of salary, or any combination thereof, for a period not exceeding fifteen (15) days;

"(2) Mayors of cities and municipalities, where the offense is punishable by withholding of privileges, restriction to specified limits, suspension or forfeiture of salary, or any combination thereof, for a period of not less than sixteen (16) days but not exceeding thirty (30) days;

"(3) PLEB (People's Law Enforcement Board)-is the central receiving entity for any citizen’s complaint against PNP members. It is created under Section 43 hereof, where the offense is punishable by withholding of privileges, restriction to specified limits, suspension or forfeiture of salary, or any combination thereof, for a period exceeding thirty (30) days; or by dismissal.

"The Commission shall provide in its implementing rules and regulations a scale of penalties to be imposed upon any member of the PNP under this Section.”

"(b) Internal Discipline. – On dealing with minor offenses involving internal discipline found to have been committed by any regular member of their respective commands, the duly designated supervisors and equivalent officers of the PNP shall, after due notice and summary hearing, exercise disciplinary powers as follows:

"(1) Chiefs of police or equivalent supervisors may summarily impose the administrative punishment of admonition or reprimand; restriction to specified limits; withholding of privileges; forfeiture of salary or suspension; or any of the combination of the foregoing: Provided, That, in all cases, the total period shall not exceed fifteen (15) days;

"(2) Provincial directors or equivalent supervisors may summarily impose administrative punishment of admonition or reprimand; restrictive custody; withholding of privileges; forfeiture of salary or suspension, or any combination of the foregoing: Provided, That, in all cases, the total period shall not exceed thirty (30) days;

"(3) Police regional directors or equivalent supervisors shall have the power to impose upon any member the disciplinary punishment of dismissal from the service. He may also impose the administrative punishment of admonition or reprimand; restrictive custody; withholding of privileges; suspension or forfeiture of salary; demotion; or any combination of the foregoing: Provided, That, in all cases, the total period shall not exceed sixty (60) days;

"(4) The Chief of the PNP shall have the power to impose the disciplinary punishment of dismissal from the service; suspension or forfeiture of salary; or any combination thereof for a period not exceeding one hundred eighty (180) days: Provided, further, That the chief of the PNP shall have the authority to place police personnel under restrictive custody during the pendency of a grave administrative case filed against him or even after the filing of a criminal complaint, grave in nature, against such police personnel.

"(c) Exclusive Jurisdiction. – A complaint or a charge filed against a PNP member shall be heard and decided exclusively by the disciplining authority who has acquired original jurisdiction over the case and notwithstanding the existence of concurrent jurisdiction as regards the offense: Provided, That offenses which carry higher penalties referred to a disciplining authority shall be referred to the appropriate authority which has jurisdiction over the offense.

"For purposes of this Act, a 'minor offense' shall refer to any act or omission not involving moral turpitude, but affecting the internal discipline of the PNP, and shall include, but not limited to:

"(1) Simple misconduct or negligence; "(2) Insubordination; "(3) Frequent absences and tardiness; "(4) Habitual drunkenness; and "(5) Gambling prohibited by law.

"(d) Forum shopping of multiple filing of complaints. – When an administrative complaint is filed with a police disciplinary authority, such as the People's Law Enforcement Board (PLEB), no other case involving the same cause of action shall be filed with any other disciplinary authority.

"In order to prevent forum shopping or multiple filing of complaints, the complainant or party seeking relief in the complaint shall certify under oath in such pleading, or in a sworn certification annexed thereto and simultaneously filed therewith, to the truth of the following facts and undertaking:

"(a) that he has not heretofore commenced any other action or proceeding involving the same issues in other disciplinary forum;

"(b) that to the best of his knowledge, no such action or proceeding is pending in other police administrative disciplinary machinery or authority;

"(c) that if there is any such action or proceeding which is either pending or may have been terminated, he must state the status thereof; and

"(d) that if he should thereafter learn that a similar action or proceeding has been filed or is pending before any other police disciplinary authority, he must undertake to report that fact within five (5) days therefrom to the disciplinary authority where the original complaint or pleading has been filed."

Section 53. Section 42 of Republic Act No. 6975 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 42. Summary Dismissal Powers of the National Police Commission, PNP Chief and PNP Regional Directors. – The National Police Commission, the chief of the PNP and PNP regional directors, after due notice and summary hearings, may immediately remove or dismiss any respondent PNP member in any of the following cases:

"(a) When the charge is serious and the evidence of guilt is strong;

"(b) When the respondent is a recidivist or has been repeatedly charged and there are reasonable grounds to believe that he is guilty of the charges; and

"(c) When the respondent is guilty of a serious offense involving conduct unbecoming of a police officer.

"Any member or officer of the PNP who shall go on absence without official leave (AWOL) for a continuous period of thirty (30) days or more shall be dismissed immediately from the service. His activities and whereabouts during the period shall be investigated and if found to have committed a crime, he shall be prosecuted accordingly."

Administrative Offenses that may be imposed

against a PNP Member

The following are the offense for which a member of the PNP may be charged

administratively: Neglect of duty or nonfeasance – it is the

omission or refusal, without sufficient excuse, to perform an act or duty, which it was the peace officer’s legal obligation to perform; it implies a duty as well as its breach and the fast can never be found in the absence of a duty.

Irregularities in the performance of duty – it is the improper performance of some act which might lawfully be done.

Misconduct or Malfeasance – it is the doing, either through ignorance, inattention or malice, of that which the officer had no legal right to do at all, as where he acts without any authority whatsoever, or exceeds, ignores or abuses his powers.

Incompetency – it is the manifest lack of adequate ability and fitness for the satisfactory performance of police duties. This has reference to any physical, moral or intellectual quality the lack of which substantially incapacitates one to perform the duties of a peace officer.

Oppression – it imports an act of cruelty, severity, unlawful exaction, domination, or excessive use of authority. The exercise of the unlawful powers or other means, in depriving an individual of his liberty or property against his will, is generally an act of oppression.

Dishonesty – it is the concealment or distortion of truth in a matter of fact relevant to one’s office, or connected with the performance of his duties.

Disloyalty to the Government – it consist of abandonment or renunciation of one’s loyalty to the Government of the Philippines, or advocating the overthrow of the government.

Violation of Law – this presupposes conviction in court of any crime or offense penalized under the Revised Penal Code or any special law or ordinance.

Conclusion: Therefore! I concluded that the conflict

management is necessary in every organization specially the PNP services in dealing or resolving incompatible or inconsistent situations that may arise, they also need ways of recognizing and resolving conflict amongst people, so that conflict does not become so serious that co-operation is impossible.

All members of any organization need to have ways of keeping conflict to a minimum - and of solving problems caused by conflict, before conflict becomes a major obstacle to their work and also the disciplinary mechanism is vital in correcting erring members of the police service.

THANK YOU !