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Revista Psicologia Organizações e Trabalho

On-line version ISSN 1984-6657

Abstract

GONCALVES, Sónia Pedroso  and  NEVES, José Gonçalves das. Study on human resources management practices in portuguese police organizations. Rev. Psicol., Organ. Trab. [online]. 2013, vol.13, n.1, pp.19-36. ISSN 1984-6657.

This study arose from the identification of gaps and limitations in human resources management practices in the police work environment in Portugal. The aim of this study was to describe the human resources management practices in police organizations. Such practices included training and development opportunities, selective recruitment, development-oriented performance evaluation, career opportunities, rewards, opportunities for participation, communication, and access to information, and practices promoting healthy behaviors. Seven police organizations were examined, and 856 police officers surveyed. Document analysis and semi-structured interviews were used to deepen and complement the characterization of the human resources management practices. The results indicate good resource management practices in prescriptive terms; however, these practices are not yet seen in this activity sector at the perceptual level. Accordingly, all dimensions present rather low values, except for training and development practices as well as communication and access to information practices, which present moderate values. A comparative analysis between the qualitative description of human resources management practices and police officers' perceptions demonstrates the existence of discrepancies in terms of prescribed and perceived practices. In addition to these discrepancies, the results obtained reveal inter-institutional heterogeneity. They point to the existence of differentiated perceptions between different organizations that share, however, the same legal framework that regulates human resources management practices.

Keywords : Human Resources Management Practices; Police.

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