Knoxville Police Department Analysis

I will look at my agency, the Knoxville Police Department, where I am a Patrol Lieutenant and have been employed the last 18 years. The current Chief of Police started at the department as an officer approximately 23 years ago and has held his position for four years. He still follows some of the early principles and theories of administration, with the main ones being Fayol’s principals of administration: “(1.) Unity of Command, in which each employee receives orders from one superior only: sometimes referred to as the one boss rule. (2.) The Scalar Principle, in which a chain of command reflects an organizational pyramid. Orders and information are communicated through official channels. (3.) Spann of Control, which recognizes that there is a limit to the number of subordinates a supervisor can effectively

This number is generally set at a maximum of 12. (4) Centralization, in which the organization is administered from the top down. Ultimate responsibility is at the top of the organization and cannot be delegated” (Chronkhite, 2013, p. 29). Fayol’s principles work very well today and sound like they were written recently. The Chief also goes by Gulick’s acronym POSDCORB, which stands for the major administrator functions of “planning, organizing, staff, direction, coordinating, report, and budgeting” (Chronkhite, 2013, p. 29). One of my favorite ideas that is stressed in the department is Taylor’s belief that “there was one best way of accomplishing any given task” and the Chief is always encouraging officers to find that best way (Chronkhite, 2013, p.27). Yes, ideas and principles of organization from yesteryear can still be