Template:CommandSOP
Command Policy
2.1 - General Expectations
As command staff, generally your job is to oversee the people working under you and ensure they are following the law and Standard Operating Procedure. They maintain authority over all other staff regarding their department and workplace, even the Captain.
Command Staff are role models and are generally promoted for a reason, and are mainly expected to direct staff and provide guidance, as well as ensure corporate regulations are adhered to. They should defer to their underlings in cases where it is not necessary for them to act, even if it may slow down the speed of work.
Command Staff are also generally expected to take part in communications with the rest of the station, and direct projects as needed for the general well-being of the crew.
In an ideal circumstance, Heads of Staff would need to do no work at all, however this is far from an ideal station. However, they should still know the majority of the jobs in the department they are serving. If the RD knows nothing about techwebs, then there's certainly cause for concern.
Generally, use common sense: You are a MANAGER, not a worker, and should only step in when your help is needed, and not to replace someone who's making a reasonable effort to do their job. To this end, Command staff should not leave the Station unless it is an emergency, this includes going to the Interlink. Clock out first.
2.2 - The Chain of Succession
This is the order that members of command have precedence, but this does not necessarily imply they may issue one another orders. Command members only have direct purview over their department, and they may control access to their department to any member of command excluding the Captain. Members of security, including the Head of Security, must have probable cause.
2.3 - The Chain of Command
Departmental heads only typically have authority over members of their own department. While orders issued by members of command to crewmembers outside of their respective department are not considered unlawful, crewmembers retain the right to deny orders from heads not pertinent to them; except on red alert or higher, where all orders from members of security and command must be obeyed.
The Warden and the Nanotrasen Crew Trainer typically should only issue orders in the line of their duty, such as the Warden issuing lawful security orders, and the Nanotrasen Crew Trainer issuing an order to stop performing a dangerous action while they are teaching you. Outside of their duties, the Warden and Nanotrasen Crew Trainer are considered equal to all other crew.
Members of command should ultimately work together to form a democracy, and should not butt heads on who has the most authority. It is for this reason that the Head of Personnel and/or Captain should attempt to mediate any disputes of this nature, as they are above other heads of staff.
The Head of Personnel should not issue orders to other members of command without good reason. The Head of Personnel has the authority to demote Heads of Staff, but should always consult with the Captain first (see 2.3).
2.4 - Hiring, Promotions & Demotions
| Policy for Promotions | Policy for Demotions |
|---|---|
| Department heads determine who is hired to their department. The Head of Personnel must consult a department's Head of Staff before hiring any staff to that department. | Department heads determine who is fired from their department, but must fire for a lawful reason. The Head of Personnel may not fire members of departments other than their own unless there is no current head of the department in question. The Captain may do this, but should attempt to seek the departmental head's permission first. |
| The Captain (acting or otherwise) determines who is hired to a department in the absence of Command. A crewmember should be a member of the relevant department and receive a mindshield to be promoted to Command. | The Captain is the head of the Command Department, and determines who is fired from it or from any departments currently lacking a department head, for a lawful reason.
The Nanotrasen Consultant and Nanotrasen Crew Trainer are not exceptions to this. Blueshields may be arrested and even permabrigged, but Central Command should be contacted before they are demoted. |
| The Head of Personnel determines who is hired to a department in the absence of both. They also mediate disputes on hiring. The Consultant represents Nanotrasen in these disputes, and serves as the point of appeal for them. | The Head of Personnel mediates disputes on firing or hiring and serves as the first point of appeal for a fired employee. The Consultant represents the second point of appeal for a fired employee. The Captain may act as a third point of appeal, before it is escalated to Central Command. Central Command decisions cannot be appealed, and Central Command is the fourth and final point of appeal.
Requests for appeals must be heeded, regardless of how preposterous. |
| A new Captain should generally be hired internally from Command staff when possible, following the Chain of Succession | An attempt to remove a seated Captain is called a vote of no-confidence. A simple majority (>50%) of present Command staff (excluding the Captain) must agree that they no longer have confidence in the seated Captain for a lawful reason.
In such a case, the next in line for Captaincy takes command as Acting Captain, and the current Captain is demoted to an assistant. Central Command should also be informed, but do not need to grant permission for this to occur. |
Central Command is not obliged to respond to station disputes, but may choose to intervene. The Security department processes any charges for abuse of authority involved at any step in the process.
It is considered self-antagging to lethally resist a lawful demotion. The core purpose of this policy is to ensure chain of Command is respected.
What constitutes a lawful reason to demote?
A lawful reason to demote must involve a violation of Space Law or a breach of applicable Operating Procedures. Crimes not committed in the workplace are not necessarily justification to demote, but committing a crime major or worse can usually result in a demotion.
A reason to terminate that is not lawful would involve discrimination based on race, sex, gender, religion, social class, or other traits deemed immutable and fundamental to a person by their genetic sequence.
How do I perform a demotion?
- Hand the ID card and PDA of the person to be demoted to the Head of Personnel for processing. Even if you, as a head of department, are making the choice to fire a member of your department, the Head of Personnel should be allowed to understand your reasoning and should be the one to process the demotion. The console in every head of department's office should only be used for granting access(es).
- Strip the individual of all articles (items, clothing, weapons, etc.) that either: are relevant to their former role, or would be unsuitable for an assistant. This includes jumpsuits, and they must be given a spare assistant's jumpsuit in place.
- Ensure that any job-specific articles are returned to their appropriate place(s). In the case of weapons, or other items that have no place to be returned to, they should be given to security to either: be repurposed as security weaponry, or to be placed in an unlocked contraband locker.
- The Head of Personnel should now have the person's ID and PDA repainted and processed as an assistant's ID card. You may return this, and the demoted person should be released into an all-access area so they are able to return to their day.
- Heads of departments can be subject to being charged with harassment (105) if they proceed to belittle a demoted person. Heads of departments should be charged with Abusing Authority (C02) should they attempt to make an unlawful demotion.
2.5 - Individual Role Procedures
Captain
The captain has absolute authority over the station, but is generally expected to defer responsibility in most cases. The captain should not be consulted for things, unless in extreme cases, or when a Head of Staff is not present. Captains are still beholden to Space Law, and can be arrested for failing to follow it. In this case, the role falls to the next in line.
Captains are also expected to look good and entertain foreign dignitaries, where reasonable. If a captain fails to properly maintain appearances in the presence of Central Command or any other high forces, they may be demoted.
Other than that, the Nuclear Authentication Disk should be secured at the closest available opportunity. The succession order may be found in section 2.2, above.
This is the highest role in the entire station. You are a big target for any antagonists, you are expected to take responsibility for the command team's actions, and coordinate the entire station. Not only are you held to a higher standard, should you fail to meet it, the consequences can be dire. If you act like an Assistant or Security Officer as captain, expect to be harshly warned.
With that said, you also have the most access and authority in turn. A good captain can and will turn a terrible situation into a much more manageable one. If you're already a great player, Captain is likely the role for you.
It should be noted that despite the Captain having access to everywhere, this does not necessarily mean they should barge their way into every room. While they can't be lawfully ordered out of anywhere (unless doing so could constitute a crime, such as negligence), a person's position as Captain does not necessarily entitle them to being liked. In the same vain, Captains should avoid acquiring unnecessary equipment where it could otherwise be used by other crewmembers; for example, taking equipment from the armory, which may constitute Abusing Authority (C02).
Head of Personnel:
As the Head of Personnel, you are responsible for the station's paychecks and ensuring everyone is adequately paid for the work they do. Additionally, your console is allowed to give anyone who requests it limited access.
You're the first in line to become Captain, and in cases where the captain is too busy to handle foreign dignitaries or secure the NAD, the responsibility may fall to you. Consider yourself the Captain's second in command in most cases, they may request you handle things in their stead, particularly minor issues they can't be bothered with.
The Head of Personnel can be a rather varied job. They can savor the prestige or feel shackled to the ID computer. If you find yourself wearing teal, make the most of it by doing your job correctly, and by following the five tenets of Human Resources:
- Support the Captain. Be sure to work as a team to lead the crew. Earn this trust by making frequent use of command chat (:c) and deferring to them on matters of great importance, like assigning new heads or calling the shuttle. You do not outrank the other heads, but you have the unique position of being able to assign people. You are the one who will take over should the Captain need to step down, so it'd be a good idea to look like a good leader in front of them.
- Uphold the Rights of Crewmen. Security often commits excesses and the Captain is either dead or personally involved in a case. Rarely, you will be forced to do the impromptu job of a pseudo-Administrator and make difficult decisions about the fate of a crewman should the Captain be unable. In these situations, remember to consider every side of the story before making a decision and try to follow Space Law while still giving out a fair sentence. Almost always, a weak Captain and Head of Personnel will result in poor security.
- Follow the Principle of Least Privilege. When assigning new access levels or creating new jobs, ask yourself just how much access is really needed to perform the task. If a hardworking engineer wants EVA access, consider if he really needs access, or just for you to open the door for him while he gets a suit. If the Chaplain is being proactive about finding bodies but often needs people to open doors, maybe the risk of giving him more access is less than gain from increasing his effectiveness. Decisions like these keep the station more secure and cuts down on the number of accidental arrests made by Security for assumed trespassing. Remember to write their increased access or privileged items on a sheet of paper and give it a good stamping so the Janitor will be able to show why he's mopping the Medbay floors.
- Talk to the Crew. The Captain is often too busy dealing with who knows what. The Head of Security is usually trying to keep his department in check. The Research Director is on fire, the Chief Medical Officer is up to his elbows injured people, and the Chief Engineer is trying to keep everyone warm and breathing in a vacuum. You're really the only Head able to take time and listen to the crew. Invite crewmen to talk to you when there are conflicts. Defuse the interpersonal and interdepartmental problems you discover during these conversations, and prevent grievances from becoming grief. Advocate on behalf of the beaten to security, and generally reduce the frequency and intensity of mutinies.
- Manage your Department First. While technically you can demote everyone who's ID you seize to Assistant, managing civilian workers not under another head is your immediate responsibility. Keeping janitors on task, directing the Chef to throw a pizza party, and getting the records up to date are the first thing to do after assigning job and access changes. Demoting bad Security Officers or stepping in for an absent department head also falls on your desk, but going into other departments to micromanage in front of their head is both bad form and likely to make you reviled. Always clear a demotion with their department head, or ideally, have all the heads aware they can send troublesome employees your way to be sent to the mining base. This lets you focus on your immediate underlings and avoid stepping on toes.
Your other job is reassigning people when they come to your desk with one or more access requests. Make sure that he or she has a good, justified reason to want a job change. A Chef who suddenly wants to become a Security Officer is a good example of someone who should be heavily scrutinized.
Nanotrasen Consultant:
You are assigned as the head of the station's Internal Affairs department, and may be asked to act as a mediator in disputes, should any arise. You have no true authority besides that over your subordinates (the NTCT, assistants) and your status as a member of command. Your primary job is to help crewmembers with questions and support them in growing in the workplace. When acting as a mediator, your word is binding, but this can only be the case if all parties have agreed to have you as the mediator of any given dispute. In no other circumstance can the Nanotrasen Consultant hold power over other members of command. This may change if issued orders directly from Central Command.
Blueshield:
As blueshield, you have two primary functions. The first is to ensure that the Nuclear Authentication Disk (NAD) is secured by a member of command, yourself, or security (in that order). If protecting the NAD conflicts with protecting a member of command, you should favor the NAD; even if this requires restraining a member of command, such as the Captain, from running into danger with the NAD. You do not have say over who should possess the NAD unless you are the only person able to possess it.
Your second function is to protect ALL members of Command, including with lethal force (if necessary), in the order of priority prescribed by the Chain of Command. This includes things such as beating up an Assistant for throwing a toolbox at the CMO, or breaking into departments if a Command member is actively being harmed inside. Your top priority is their lives, if a member of Command loses their gear, that is not your concern.[1]
You are encouraged to give a verbal warning if possible before attacking, and you shouldn't go straight for your gun-- much like with Security, you shouldn't play this job just to kill people.
However, Blueshields are decidedly not security, and should not enforce Space Law or attempt to protect anything other than heads of staff. If a threat runs off after attacking members of Command, you should not pursue-- you should stay with command to defend them. That said, if a member of Command is being suicidal or otherwise making a choice that would harm them, and thus their ability to do their job, you are well within your rights to stop them from doing so. Use your best judgement.
You should not harm members of command when attempting to secure the NAD, as doing so may lead to your lawful arrest. You have ultimate authority over the protection of command members, and you cannot be ordered to the protection of any one command member (if you believe it would be best to protect another command member, for example) except by Central Command.
- The Head of Security is an exception to this; they should not be hindered in doing their job, which includes running into danger.
- The Nuclear Authentication Disk is your ultimate priority. If you have to choose between saving a command member and the Nuclear Authentication Disk, you should choose the disk in every scenario.
- ↑ with the exception of the NAD, which you may seek to secure if the Captain is occupied, idle, or not present.
