No task is impossible simply because of the challenge it presents. In fact, with challenges come opportunities. This is overwhelmingly clear to me after 25 years in policing.
Individuals and organizations choose how to respond to challenges. In the ones that are difficult, they can see opportunities or, in the opportunities, see only difficulty.
Challenges abound in the modern business environment of today. They are far greater and more complex and confront organizations more often than ever before, according to the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).
AICD publications indicate that organizations, particularly their directors, face such challenges as climate change, environmental and social responsibility, sustainability, use of technology, organizational trust, and governance.
The publications also indicate how organizations are best placed to operate at peak performance in a dynamic and rapidly changing environment.
A robust environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy is increasingly important. So, too, is the way in which a mature, well-founded strategic approach can assist businesses to overcome critical issues and enhance their ability to continuously improve.
The Police Association is no different. It is not immune from business challenges. Nor is it impervious to a changing external environment. It does not exist in a bubble.
The association exists to protect members, create a stronger future, and deliver the best outcomes for members.
Critical, therefore, is for the association to be always relevant to its members. And self-reflection is a key component to individual and organizational growth.
The Police Association provides important services to its nearly 5,000 members. So, it has to be certain that its operations reflect today’s best-practice ways of working.
We have to ensure that contemporary structures – insofar as people, processes, and technologies – underpin our strategic pillars, as defined in the Police Association Strategic Plan 2022-2025.
With the 2021 election of the new committee of management came a commitment to undertake an independent external review of the association’s business operations.
Accordingly, the association has engaged the expert services of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to conduct a root-and-branch review.
The association aims to reposition itself strategically to ensure it can react and adapt to changes in the current business environment and deliver on the objectives of the strategic plan.
PwC will conduct its review focused on the corporate and functional key pillars of governance, organization, business process, technologies, and people and behaviour.
This will enable PwC to assess the capability of the association to deliver on its 2022-2025 strategy (and beyond) and its agility in responding to change and accommodating continuous improvement.
Harvard Business School professor Alfred Chandler identified in the 1970s that “unless structure follows strategy, inefficiency results”.
In a modern business context, the phrase “strategy before structure” has become a business mantra that has stood the test of time.
Organizational designs often have a use-by date, particularly if the structure served a strategy whose time had passed. Arrangements for managing, doing and delivering work need to adapt to reflect evolving conditions, strategies and priorities.
After the review, PwC will provide insights that incorporate best-practice methodology.
The Police Association welcomes the research, assessment and problem-solving which are the strength of the PwC review. The outcome will be compelling recommendations to address issues and capitalize on opportunities.
