K.M. Lasthuizen

A study of the impact of three leadership styles on integrity violations committed by police officers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the connection between three aspects of leadership – role modeling, strictness, and openness – and nine types of integrity violations within the Dutch police force.Design/methodology/approach – In this paper data were collected by means of a questionnaire from five regional police organizations in The Netherlands (2,130 questionnaires to regular police officers, response rate 51 percent). Respondents were requested to describe their direct supervisors leadership qualities and the frequency of integrity violations in their unit. Multivariate analysis techniques were employed to test the relation between the three leadership styles and the nine types of integrity violations.Findings – The paper finds that role modeling, strictness, and openness of leaders influence the behavior of police officers, but the impact of the variables on the different types of integrity violations varies. Role modeling is especially significant in limiting unethical conduct in th...

Demonstrating ethical leadership by measuring ethics

Managers need information to manage the ethics of their organizations. This article proposes that periodic surveys examining organizational ethics can be used to obtain this information. It presents the design and results of a study of U.S. public servants that demonstrates the value of surveys as an instrument to support effective ethical leadership. Surveys can reveal the extent and possible consequences of unethical behavior in organizations and illuminate the characteristics of ethical leadership. A brief agenda for further research is provided.

How to measure integrity violations. Towards a validated typology of unethical behavior

Abstract To develop governance that is both effective and ethical, scholars study the causes and effects of unethical behavior as well as the policies and systems that thwart such behavior. However, there is much inconsistency and incoherence in the demarcation of different types of unethical behaviors. To enable conceptual clarity and improved measurement we present here a validated typology of unethical behaviors – that is, integrity violations. Differentiating between such types of violations not only reveals insightful variation in the frequency and acceptability of these violations but also shows how leadership styles and organizational culture have varying effects on these different unethical behaviors.

Comparative analysis of ethical leadership and ethical culture in local government: US, Netherlands, Montenegro and Serbia.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of ethical leadership and ethical culture as a safeguard against corruption.Design/methodology/approach – Using survey data from public managers in local authorities in The Netherlands, Serbia, Montenegro and the USA in a comparative study.Findings – The USA and The Netherlands, generally, display higher levels of organizational integrity than Montenegro and Serbia. Second, the strongest effects of ethical leadership were found in Montenegro. Third, in all four countries a rule‐based approach to ethics dominated.Research limitations/implications – It is difficult to determine the extent to which survey participants felt free to express their true opinions. Different social values need to be included as part of any comparative analysis.Practical implications – The role of ethical leadership is crucial; the importance of laws and rules underpinning ethical conduct cannot be underestimated.Originality/value – The paper contributes to the growing i...

What's the Difference? Ethical Leadership in Public, Hybrid and Private Sector Organizations

Is there one best practice for ethical leadership? Studies suggest that the publicness of an organization can have important implications for leadership. Yet research on ethical leadership generally assumes that one ethical leadership style should fit all types of organization alike. This study explores the validity of that assumption by using qualitative interviews to unravel similarities and differences in how Dutch public, hybrid and private sector managers conceive ethical leadership. The results suggest that most aspects of ethical leadership may be transferable across public and private sectors. However, in comparison with their private sector counterparts, the managers operating in public and hybrid sector organizations placed greater value on being altruistic, showing concern for the common good, and being responsive, transparent and accountable to society at large. Moreover, whereas public and hybrid sector managers considered explicit and frequent communication about ethics to be a key component of ethical leadership, most of the private sector managers preferred communication strategies in which ethics was more implicitly embedded in discussions of, for instance, ‘the business model’ or ‘customer relationships’. The results suggest further research on the contingencies of ethical leadership views and practices across different types of organizations is warranted.

Overlapping Values, Mutual Prejudices: Empirical Research into the Ethos of Police Officers and Private Security Guards

What determines professional motivations and values of security operatives: sector or profession? Our article aims to answer this question through a survey study among police officers (n = 405) and private security guards (n = 329) in the Netherlands. Our results show that both groups closely resemble each other in how they prioritize motivations and values, although police officers have a slightly more “missionary” and “crime fighting” work ethic than private security guards. Mutual perceptions, however, reveal contrasts: Police officers look down on private security guards, while private security guards look up to police officers. We conclude with theoretical and practical implications of our findings.

A note on a simple and practical randomized response framework for eliciting sensitive dichotomous and quantitative information.

Many issues of interest to social scientists and policy makers are of a sensitive nature in the sense that they are intrusive, stigmatizing, or incriminating to the respondent. This results in refusals to cooperate or evasive cooperation in studies using self-reports. In a seminal article, Warner (1965) proposed to curb this problem by generating an artificial variability in responses to inoculate the individual meaning of answers to sensitive questions. This procedure was further developed and extended and came to be known as the randomized response (RR) technique. Here, the authors propose a unified treatment for eliciting sensitive binary as well as quantitative information with RR based on a model where the inoculating elements are provided for by the randomization device. The procedure is simple and the authors will argue that its implementation in a computer-assisted setting may have superior practical capabilities.

What Goes Wrong: Integrity Violations

While the previous chapter focused on the “bright” side of ethics and integrity, this chapter focuses on the “dark side” the violation of moral values and norms, such as the official who accepts a bribe or discriminates against a citizen. In integrity and ethics research, much attention is paid to this dark side; for example, most research aimed at measuring the integrity of an organization or society measures the presence of corrupt behavior and other forms of unethical behavior. Why, we do not know, although one probable reason is that “bad behavior” and violation of norms and values are easier to measure than “good behavior” and adherence to the values and norms we appreciate and admire.

How Policing Can Reduce Feelings of Insecurity: Results from Survey Research in the Netherlands

This paper assesses the actions which need to be taken by the police in order to enhance the sense of safety within the community. Based on international literature, a comprehensive model for the link between the actions of the police, crime, and safety is sketched and evaluated using data obtained from the Police Population Monitor, a large‐scale national census in the Netherlands. The findings clearly show that the most effective manner to increase the public safety through police actions is to ensure that this takes place from within the direct residential areas of the public, and if the police provide localized made‐to‐measure services.

Combatting workplace aggression in detainee transport: A Dutch case study

Purpose – In Dutch detainee care custodial transport police officers experience high levels of aggression and violence from detainees. Being a first of its kind in the Netherlands, the purpose of this paper is to unravel the true nature and origins of such workplace aggression against transport officers and focuses on the role of street-level leadership and leadership by management for its mitigation and prevention. Design/methodology/approach – Unique in such closed institutions as the prison system, the study employs an extensive mixed methods approach, combining observations, interviews and survey data collected among transport officers and detainees in 2012-2013. Findings – The research shows that within the exercised street-level leadership of transport officers especially staff orientation towards detainees has great impact. Perceived inappropriate treatment is likely to increase detainees’ aggressive behaviours, with potentially detrimental effects such as heightened levels of officers’ job stress,...