COMMUNICATION AND CONFLICT IN IPJ X

Fofiu, Daniel Article COMMUNICATION AND CONFLICT IN IPJ X Agora International Journal of Economical Sciences (AIJES) Provided in Cooperation with: Faculty of Economic Sciences, Agora University of Oradea Suggested Citation: Fofiu, Daniel (2024) : COMMUNICATION AND CONFLICT IN IPJ X, Agora International Journal of Economical Sciences (AIJES), ISSN 2067-7669, Agora University Press, Oradea, Romania, Vol. 18, Iss. 1, pp. 275-289, https://doi.org/10.15837/aijes.v18i1.6730 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/303022 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. 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FOFIU Daniel Fofiu Faculty of Economic Sciences, Agora University of Oradea, Romania E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: Optimal communication of the system reveals its advantages also within the Romanian Police. The work of a policeman is based on my own knowledge and communication skills and now that I work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, I noticed that this opinion has been substantiated and even emphasized. One thing is certain: being part of a law enforcement body is not easy. The criminal environment is highly dangerous and most criminals want to escape impediments that place them outside the limits imposed by law. The policeman is in the crosshairs of the offender. Taking into account all these aspects, the policeman must be in continuous communication, collaboration with other colleagues and develop various methods of identifying those who commit antisocial acts. The greater number of law enforcement teams can lead to deterrence for criminals. Working in the system, I can say that the optimization of the communication process is permanently targeted by police officers and, as a result, many cases can be solved. Keywords: communication, conflict, policeman, management. Introduction Inherently, conflict is also a common factor in today's society. Looking around us, we can notice numerous divergences between different groups of people, between different individuals, nations. The sources generating conflicts are of the most diverse: the desire for power, supremacy, prejudices, different perspectives on an issue, etc. Conflict is inevitable, but, managed correctly, it can lead to the resolution of many problems. 1. The role of communication and conflict in maximizing performance 1.1. Communication and conflict. Theoretical considerations As for the communication process, it has received several definitions in doctrine. We rally with Mckay M.'s view as a foundation of life, a source of happiness, fulfilment, and satisfaction; Only through communication, he believed, can people gain trust in other people (Florea, 2017:10). Another definition of communication that we want to present in the preamble of this work, belongs to D.R., according to which communication is something omnipresent, something that is always near us and in us. Through it, we convey not only words, but also stimuli or actions. One of the definitions of conflict that stood out was that formulated by Michael Brecher. He considered conflict as a hostile confrontation that extends over a longer or shorter period of time, considering conflict not as something static, linear, but as a dramatic phenomenon, with multiple valences in intensity and frequency. Conflict is a process, not a specific event (Brecher et al., 2000:3). 276 1.2. The motivation-performance relationship in modern management Motivation is the force that pushes a person towards a certain ideal, a goal, it is that intrinsic element that opens the way to the satisfaction given by the fulfilment of a dream, aspiration, desire. Over time, several theories of motivation have been created. Most of these theories have pointed out that people, regardless of status, ethnicity, gender, etc., have a certain scale of needs. These needs, however, are not the same for all people, but are different from individual to individual. This difference is normal and is determined by several conditions. Among these conditions we mention: the environment in which the individual lived or heredity (the spiritual and inner inclinations of the individual, unlike the external aspects, are not given by heredity but by the environment, the entourage that man had around him); Education; personal conception of the person (the individual's ability to make an introspection, an analysis on his skills, on his capabilities, on the qualities and defects he has) ; life experience, etc. (Petrișor-Mateuț, 2019). All these factors play an important role in determining the needs of some people. In any organization, success depends on the quality of people. In order to increase their performance, companies adopt two different models of action. Some of them focus mainly on the material, external side of things, while others focus on people's principles, their way of thinking. The first category includes actions such as financial reward, control of the employee and the application of sanctions when he does not perform a task correctly. In the second category, managers make an analysis on the way of "being" of the people they subordinate, on the way of thinking, on their principles. Following this analysis, actions will be taken to strengthen, modify or discourage certain employee precepts in order to reach the desired goal: the benefit and development of the company. Performance is an element that is closely related to success. In order to achieve a coveted result in a field, some effort must be made and the individual must prove, among other things, seriousness and professionalism. If we were to summarize all these aspects, we could say that the individual, in order to achieve his goals, must aim for performance. This means that he must have a well-organized schedule, be determined when he starts a ministry, and not give up when things do not go as he anticipated. In terms of types of performance, the doctrine refers to three types: psychic performance, physical performance, and psychophysical performance. Psychic performance takes into account certain objective physical valences such as metabolism or biorhythmic state. This type of performance can in turn be of two types: intellectual dominant, in which reason has the last word and nothing triumphs over it, or emotional dominant. The latter takes into account feelings, momentary states, which play a particularly important role in making decisions, lifestyles. Psychophysical performance is that type of performance in which it is not possible to establish which is more dominant: the physical side or the psychic side (Petrișor-Mateuț, 2019). We believe that the performance of an individual is closely related to the performance of a group. Any project of a certain value, any more expensive work requires teamwork, requires a group of people working together, supporting each other, to reach the intended goal. Whether we are talking about private companies or state institutions, it is easy to see how a man's negligence can affect the entire work and all the work of his colleagues. In the Police, for example, it is enough for a policeman to slander the name of the Romanian Police by committing a crime, so that all the hard work done by his other colleagues to make this society COMMUNICATION AND CONFLICT IN IPJ X 277 a safer place is forgotten and blamed. As for human performance factors, they can be internal or external. The internal ones can be genetic, educational, training, etc., and the external ones can be informationalinstructive and educational, which refers mainly to school and family, and technicalorganizational and psychosocial, which refers to state structures and market economy (PetrișorMateuț, 2019). 1.3. The role of evaluation in maximising performance In order for a company or state institution to develop and achieve success, a periodic performance evaluation is needed. This analysis involves an internal control within the ongoing activities, an analysis after which it can be known exactly what are the strengths and which are the weaknesses that need to be remedied. As any firm or any kind of institution is composed of many people, it is important to look at how to evaluate human resources. Thus, when assessing the performance of human resources, the evaluation of human potential and ability to evolve will be taken into account; behaviour evaluation and performance evaluation. The assessment of potential takes into account the establishment that a particular individual has an inclination towards the activity he carries out. This aspect must be established because only when he does what he likes, man can develop and reach great performances. The behaviour evaluation takes into account how the person treats the work they perform, the attention and meticulousness they give to the smallest details because, often, they make the difference. Last but not least, performance evaluation takes into account the results that the employee reaches as a result of his efforts. Following this analysis, depending on everything the employee has achieved, the director or the immediate boss can reach a conclusion either to keep the individual on the job or to move him to another activity he would be better at. As a result of all these controls, it will be possible to identify factors of progress and regression, a rational distribution of tasks, a better distribution of staff by posts, etc. 2. Case study. Police Romanian. 2.1. General characteristics: duties, significance, classification For the performance of his duties, especially to fight for the maintenance of a climate dominated by peace and security, the police officer shall be vested with state authority, with public authority, but only during and in connection with the performance of his duties, within the limits of the competences established by law. Law 360/2002 states in Article 2, paragraph 2 that the authority of the policeman's office cannot be exercised in personal interest. If a police officer abdicates the rules laid down for the exercise of his office and acquires certain advantages by exercising the profession of policeman, he commits an offence. One of these offences to which I wish to refer is provided for in Article 295 of the Criminal Code, as subsequently amended and supplemented, which deals with embezzlement. Thus, Article 295, paragraph 1 provides that the appropriation, use or trafficking by a public official, for personal interest or for another, of money, benefits or goods he manages or administers is punishable by imprisonment from 2 to 7 years and the prohibition of the right to exercise a public office (Lupașcu, 2022). The police officer must exercise his professional activity and perform his duties for the 278 sole purpose of citizens, the community and in the interest of state institutions. In the exercise of his duties, the police officer must adopt an impartial, objective attitude, clearly analyse things and thus reach a correct conclusion in order to achieve justice. The welfare of the society to which he belongs must be the foundation of the individual's decision to become an organ of law. On the contrary, the policeman will not be able to prove fairness and verticality when he is offered, for example, a certain amount of money for non-fulfilment or defective performance of some job duties. The Law on the Status of Police Officers also outlines the grades in which police officers in both categories can fall. Thus, there are the following ranks: quaestor general of police; Chief Quaestor of Police; Chief Police Quaestor; police quaestor; Chief Commissioner of Police; Commissioner of Police; Deputy Commissioner of Police; Senior Police Inspector; police inspector; police sub-inspector. In the category with secondary education there are: chief police officer; chief police officer; Deputy Chief Police Officer; senior police officer; police officer (Law 360/2022 on the Status of the Policeman). All activity that is carried out by the Romanian Police must be based on: the principle of legality, the principle of liaison of police officers with citizens, the principle of cooperation in work between police formations, units and cadres, the principle of operability, the principle of finding out the truth, the principle of formality and the principle of the active role of police units (Constantin, 2014:13-14). From an organizational point of view, the Romanian Police includes: the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police, territorial units subordinated to IGPR, DGPMB and county police inspectorates, educational institutions for the continuous training and training of police officers and other units necessary to fulfil specific police duties. There are forty-one county police inspectorates, corresponding to the number of counties in Romania. All these are subordinated to the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police. The existence of a police inspectorate at the level of each county in Romania is necessary because, as I mentioned before, crime in Romania is gradually increasing. For example, on the official website of the General Directorate of Police of Bucharest, the crime coefficient in different sectors of the country's capital is presented. Thus, in sector 1, in 2020, the crime coefficient was 99.88%, in 2021 102.8%, and in 2022 112.58% (retrieved from: https://b.politiaromana.ro/ro/informatii-publice/coeficienti-de-criminalitate). A central management would not be able to cope with knowing the criminal situation and, above all, stopping and diminishing it. On the basis of all these considerations, there are forty-one police inspectorates which are intended to know several aspects of the territory over which they exercise jurisdiction. Thus, a well-trained policeman should know the territory in terms of extent and location, peculiarities of the geographical area, ways and means of transport, etc. Police officers also need to know the population in the county where they work. It should be known the structure of the population (number of inhabitants, their age, their occupation, etc.), the relationships between citizens, the customs that exist in the respective county. From a police point of view, the civil servant with special status will have to identify both persons likely to commit crimes and those who have committed crimes. Also, the policeman will have to identify people who can provide information of operational interest to prevent possible antisocial acts. Another particularly important aspect concerns the criminal situation. Criminal status means the total number of antisocial acts, contraventions or crimes COMMUNICATION AND CONFLICT IN IPJ X 279 that were committed in a certain place over a certain period of time. The police officer will have to pay special attention to the criminal status in order to know what type of crimes are consumed with predilection in his area of competence and thus create means by which to remove the conditions that favour the occurrence of antisocial acts. The police officer must also take into account events of any nature that are organized in the county. He will have to first inform himself about the nature of the event, about how such events took place in the past, about the pluses and minuses of police activities to maintain public order and safety, and finally, to take appropriate decisions to ensure a climate of tranquillity and peace during the event that will take place. Last but not least, the police's own forces and means will be taken into account. The number of staff, their professional training, their physical and mental strength, sources of information, etc. will be taken into account. By knowing all these details, the police will be able to ensure justice. The law enforcement body must be aware of everything that happens in its territory of competence, take note of everything that is happening and act promptly and operatively to stop crimes. Also, teamwork reveals once again its importance, the greatest achievements requiring cooperation between several structures or formations, being the result of actions of the communication process. 3. The first pillar of the Romanian Police: Ethics 3.1. Code of ethics and deontology of police officers We live in a world where the concepts of "good and evil" are losing more and more of their essence, acquiring an increasingly pronounced shade of grey. What We want to convey by this is that the good of one man can be the misfortune of another and vice versa. The truth is that everyone has a different perspective on the universe. To one degree or another, the individual "falls prey" to the socio-political, cultural and economic context in which he is born. Great influences on the conception of life will also have family, friends, school and entourage. It is true that to one degree or another we all need the same elements to survive (oxygen, water, food, etc.), but we must recognize that beyond this core, we are much more complex than we imagine. On a more superficial level, as I pointed out earlier, we want different things. If the definition of the notions of good and evil may differ from person to person in certain areas, within the Romanian Police things acquire a special simplicity in this respect due to the normative acts and not only, which draw a series of principles, rules governing the activity carried out by police officers. Within these normative acts we are presented, among others, the duties of the policeman, the conduct he must have in carrying out his duties, his rights and obligations, etc. Thus, an overview of what "good" means and what "evil" means, the good being seen in the form of how a law enforcement body must relate to society and its own duties, and evil being presented by what a policeman should not do. Law nr. 218 of 23 April 2002 on the organization and functioning of the Romanian Police, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions, outlines a "good" to be achieved and maintained by police officers in the form of their duties. Thus, in Chapter 3, Article 26, we are presented with several main tasks:  Defending life, freedom of persons,  Protection of public and private property, fundamental rights of citizens, 280  Application of measures necessary to maintain public order and security,  Preventing and combating crime,  Identifying and stopping elements that pose a danger to the life and integrity of persons and to public or private property, etc. From all this information, it is concluded what the concept of "good" refers to within the Romanian Police, namely the safety of citizens. Ensuring a climate of tranquillity and peace, in which all fundamental rights of the human being and of the citizen are respected, is the very goal that law enforcement bodies must achieve. In order to fulfil this desideratum, the policeman must prove maximum responsibility and attention in everything he does, to prioritize the welfare of society over his own well-being and comfort. The aforementioned law not only sets the standard to be achieved, but also provides the means by which it can be reached. Thus, in Article 31 of the same law, we are told that the police officer is vested with the exercise of public authority and thus: legitimizes and identifies persons, according to the legal provisions; leads persons whose identity could not be established at police headquarters; perform body control of persons and baggage check when there are serious indications that the person would hide objects prohibited by law; carry out raids when there are indications that a crime has been committed; carry the necessary weapons and ammunition, etc. Also, for drawing a difference between good and evil within the Romanian Police, another document has significant value. It is about the Code of ethics and deontology of the policeman, approved by Government Decision nr. 991 of 25.08.2005. Taking into account the significance of the Police within society, the legislator considered it appropriate to draw up a series of norms for the policeman to follow exactly, a scale of values or a set of precepts to govern the activity of law enforcement bodies. In any democratic state, bodies vested with the exercise of public authority must have a respectful and, why not, irreproachable conduct. These bodies must be an example of honesty, justice and fairness. Being under these attributes, police officers will have a greater credibility among society, they will be respected and honoured for the way they execute their activities. In its preamble, the Code outlines its purpose and refers to the main functions of the police. Thus, in Article 2, paragraph 1, we are informed that this code establishes a set of rules of conduct for the Romanian police officer. Any policeman must follow these rules with all his might. In order to prevent a possible abuse of power, the Code also refers in the same paragraph to the fact that any person may require the police officer to comply with the rules laid down in the Code. Thus, man is not encouraged to have a passive attitude when he encounters a law enforcement body that abuses his power, but on the contrary, he is encouraged to require the policeman to adopt a conduct worthy of his profession. The Code of Ethics and Deontology of the Police emphasizes the fact that police activity is a public service, all police missions being carried out in the interest of individuals and the community, as well as in support of state institutions, as provided in the international and domestic legislation applicable in the field. All the primary activities carried out by the Romanian Police perfectly fit the idea presented above. Protecting the rights and freedoms of individuals, defending public and private property, preventing and combating crime are the main functions of the police that are exercised in the interest of the community, of the state. COMMUNICATION AND CONFLICT IN IPJ X 281 Article 6 sets out the principles governing the professional conduct of police officers. These are as follows: Legality, Equality, Transparency, Capacity and duty of expression, Availability, Priority of public interest, Professionalism, Confidentiality, Respect, Moral Integrity, Operational Independence, Loyalty. To these precepts is added the principle of presumption of innocence. It takes into account that until there are good reasons to prove that a crime has actually been committed by a person, the individual will be considered innocent. The police officer must perform his prerogatives with maximum objectivity and in a fair manner. He will have to develop the ability to think "coldly", that is, not to be influenced by what he feels would be right, but to meticulously research every detail and after a thorough analysis, to arrive at the right solution. We have previously stated that law enforcement bodies must respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. All actions that police officers take towards any person must be in strict accordance with the law and must not allow the policeman to be influenced by certain characteristics of the individual (origin, ethnicity, nationality, sex, etc.) One of the most important documents when it comes to presenting people's rights and freedoms is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted on December 10, 1948 by Resolution 217 A at the third session of the United Nations General Assembly. Among the rights that are enshrined in this document we mention: civil rights (right to life, inviolability of housing, free movement, etc.); political rights (right to asylum, right to choose, citizenship); economic rights (right to property, equal pay for equal work); procedural rights (right to a fair trial, right to effective remedy, etc.) and social rights (right to work, right to social security, right to rest and leisure). 3.2. Managerial communication-cybernetic system The good, in order to be encouraged and increased, must be rewarded accordingly. Evil, equally, must be properly punished in order to be deterred and stopped. For this society to progress, exceptional deeds undertaken by a person must be recognized, appreciated and ultimately rewarded. Deep down, the individual has the desire and, why not, the need to be appreciated, the need to belong to a certain collective. Thanks to this striving, the individual overcomes his limits and makes great efforts to achieve a result. The employee wants to be appreciated by others after all his efforts. The individual constantly feels the need to be useful to his fellows. We, as a society, must always have our eyes open to see these people and encourage and appreciate them for their actions. Only by doing so, the organization will achieve its goals through the reward system, awards, etc. the population in general. This system of thinking is also found within the Romanian Police. Many police officers and agents go to great lengths to solve complex cases. They often sacrifice their free time, and sometimes even their family, so that eventually the truth will come out in a given situation and justice will be served. From our point of view, this sacrifice on the altar of justice must be observed and rewarded accordingly. Currently, among the existing means for rewarding police officers who achieve outstanding results we mention: advancement in rank, awarding a diploma of excellence, handing out plaques of honour, etc. Finally, we notice how all the normative acts presented in this chapter have the role of defining within the Romanian Police the eternal concepts of "good" and "evil". All the rights and obligations of police officers, all perceptions that must govern the activities undertaken by 282 police officers, all principles for the application of police measures, form a whole by which the legislator defines "morality" for law enforcement bodies. The "good" defined in this sense is continually encouraged by rewarding people who show initiative and dedication and who sacrifice themselves, often for the sake of high moral principles. 4. The second pillar of the Romanian Police: Communication 4.1. The role of forms of communication in police activity Regarding the levels on which communication is carried out, the doctrine refers to three: verbal, written and nonverbal communication (Cuc et al., 2015:44). Verbal communication is It is an important form of communication and has several characteristic features that differentiate it from other types of information transmission. Verbal communication is permissive and circular, in the sense that, within it, one can easily return to details or information that appeared after the formulation of the basic message. This type of communication is influenced by circumstances, in the sense that the receiver can perceive the message differently, depending on the state of fatigue, the level of stress, his mood. Last but not least, verbal communication is influenced by the individual traits of the sender and receiver. Written communication is a much more formal type of communication than oral communication and is characterized by readability, adequacy and fairness. In this type of communication, medium-length phrases must be used, common expression and unnecessary words must be avoided so that the receiver can perceive the message as well as possible. Written communication has a number of advantages, but also a set of disadvantages. Among the advantages, we mention: the possibility of distance communication, the possibility of the sender to linger on the message before transmitting it, the possibility of transmitting more complex messages, so that the receiver always has access to information and can reread it. Among the disadvantages of this type of communication, we refer to: feedback is delayed, sometimes even absent, for the elaboration of a written message the effort is higher, the receiver does not have the opportunity to ask questions, etc. Nonverbal communication is by far the most important form of communication. Peter F. Drucker said in this regard that the most important thing is to hear what no one says (Cuc et al., 2015:68). Nonverbal communication involves an accumulation of signs that can be encoded by the receiver and that can contradict, reinforce or replace what the sender wanted to express. The receiver pays the most attention to this type of communication. Among the basic characteristics of this type of communication we mention: the fact that it is unintentional, emphasizes verbal communication, is the expression of the level of culture and civilization, can contradict some aspects of verbal communication, is most often marked by ambiguity. According to Mehabrian A. and Weiner M., in oral communication 55% of information is retained and perceived through nonverbal language (gestures, mimicry, facial expression, etc.) (Cuc et al., 2015:68). Within the Romanian Police, we encounter all these types of communication. The use of a particular type is determined by the circumstance of the policeman. Thus, in a discussion with several colleagues to establish an action plan, verbal communication will be mainly used. Written communication occurs most often in the prosecutor-police relationship, when the prosecutor will give him a note of instructions, in which he will inform him of the steps to follow in a certain case, usually more complicated. Communication Nonverbal is determined COMMUNICATION AND CONFLICT IN IPJ X 289 Oradea, 2015. 7. Explanatory Dictionary of the Romanian Language, Univers Enciclopedic Publishing House, Bucharest, 2016. 8. Florea V.N., Organizational Communication in the Context of Globalization, Pro Universitaria, Bucharest, 2017. 9. Isaacs W., Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together, Currency Books, New York, 1999. 10. Joe N., Body Language, HarperCollins Publishers, 2018. 11. Kennedy G., The Perfect Negotiation, National Publishing House, Bucharest, 1998. 12. Kory F., Interpersonal communication, Polirom, Iasi 2013. 13. Krizan A.C., et al., Business Communication, 8th edition, Cengage Learning, 2011. 14. Lupașcu D., Criminal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, Universul Juridic, 2022. 15. Manolescu A., Communication and conflict management, Agora University Press, Oradea, 2010. 16. Petrișor-Mateuț O., Human Resources Motivation and Professional Performance, Agora University Press, Oradea, 2019. 17. Robbins S. P., Organizational Behavior, McGraw Hill, Boston, 1998. 18. Stanton N., Communication, Society of Science and Technology SA, 1995. 19. Van Cuilenburg J.J., Scholten O., Noomen G.W., The Science of Communication, Humanitas, Bucharest, 2004. 20. Vocate D.R., Intrapersonal Communication, Different voices, different minds, Lawrence Erlbaum, Assoc. Inc. Pub., NY, USA, 2012. 21. Yankelovich D., The Magic of Dialogue, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1999. 22. Zsuzsanna K., Between conflict and economics. Ensuring future well-being and safety, Lumen, Iasi, 2007. Legislation: 23. Charter of the United Nations, San Francisco, June 26, 1945, Chapter VI. 24. Code of ethics and deontology of police officers, articles 1, 6. 25. Labour Code of 24 January 2003, republished with subsequent amendments and completions. 26. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. 27. Government Decision 294/2007 on the organization and functioning of the "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" Police Academy within the Ministry of Administration and Interior. 28. https://b.politiaromana.ro/ro/informatii-publice/coeficienti-de-criminalitate. 29. Law 360/2022 on the Status of the Policeman. 30. Law nr. 218 of 23 April 2002 on the organization and functioning of the Romanian Police, Articles 26, 31. 31. Statute of the National Union of Police and Contract Personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, art. 1. 32. www.snppc.ro/istoric.