Recognition and change: embracing a mobile policing initiative

Abstract

PurposeRadical notions of recognition at work have not been considered widely in respect of organizational change. This article examines the introduction of a change programme across two UK police departments, during which front-line officers were actively involved and consulted throughout its pilot phase. The purpose of this article is to consider the question of whether or not a perceived sense of recognition amongst officers contributed to the success of this initiative.Design/methodology/approachThe research utilizes qualitative data derived from individual interviews, focus groups and observations, gathered over one year, within two UK police departments. The data was analysed thematically. Reflection, and an ongoing discussion with officers, led to a theoretical exploration of recognition in order to explore the apparent success of the programme.FindingsRecognition, consisting of a sense of love, respect and esteem, appears to offer a notable impetus to the acceptance of a change programme within a traditionally change averse organization. Resistance to organizational change may be better addressed through a strategy that seeks to actively promote the claims to recognition of organizational members, particularly through the extension of a right to participate within the context of a supportive and protective culture of engagement.Originality/valueThe article utilizes the novel, but increasingly utilized, theory of recognition to analyse and explain positive employee involvement in a change programme within the police. An approach that helped to achieve change in a widely acknowledged change-resistant organization.

Employee recognition programmes: An immanent critique

“…The idea that paid work within a market economy can provide for meaningful recognition has also been developed by several scholars in the field of management and organization studies (Hancock, 2016; Hancock and Tucker, 2020; Holtgrewe, 2001; Islam, 2012). Most notably, Islam (2012) extends Honneth’s approach to identify not only how organizations’ HRM function tends to objectify employees as ‘human capital’ to be ‘utilized, developed or divested according to economic logic’ (Islam, 2012: 43), but also how the necessary conditions for a relationship of recognition can be understood as immanent in the values of HRM, since employees enact their intrinsic freedom as agential subjects through being active entrants into the labour market and voluntary recruits into the organization.…”

Towards a Sociology of Meaningful Work

“…Indeed, both are central facilitators of social integration and subject to the normative ideal of the individual as a legal actor who possesses the same rights, in theory, as others (Fraser and Honneth, 2003). At the workplace level, self-respect is embraced by management practices that understand workers' unconstrained entitlement to the values of respect and dignity due to their sovereign decision to work for the organization (Hancock and Tucker, 2020). This understanding informs the article's concept of objective recognition that refers back to workers' desire for equity, dignity and voice as forms of recognition that foster self-respect in the sphere of the formal organization of work and employment.…”

“…This understanding informs the article’s concept of objective recognition that refers back to workers’ desire for equity, dignity and voice as forms of recognition that foster self-respect in the sphere of the formal organization of work and employment. These desires are acknowledged in opportunities for workers to participate in planning and decision making at work, as well as in the access to employment that offers equal and adequate pay, is secure and not in conflict with other life-goals (Hancock and Tucker, 2020; Honneth, 2012).…”

“…For example, Holtgrewe (2001) highlights how formalized schemes and events that celebrate workers’ contributions can foster self-respect by enhancing visibility and admiration of work across the hierarchy. Meanwhile, Hancock and Tucker (2020) and Islam (2012) suggest that recognition as respect can be enhanced by organizational mechanisms that promote active engagement and respect for the seniority, work experience and formal and informal expertise of workers. However, considering the structured antagonism between capital and labour, objective recognition is shaped by the power asymmetry between capital and labour, constraining significantly the nature and extent of workers’ rights claims.…”