The Management and Leadership Environment - Case Study Example

Role and History of Fire Services in UK & UAE Name: Subject: Teacher: Class: June 12, 2008 University Contents Contents 2 Abstract 4 Historical Perspective and Role 4 Brief History of the Fire department of UAE 4 Role of fire services in UAE 5 Brief history of Fire Services in Great Britain 6 Role of fire services in UK 7 Operating environments of UK and UAE 7 Leadership and Management Concepts 8 The management and leadership environment of the UAE 10 The management and leadership environment of the UK 11 Summary 12 Citation 13 Abstract UAE and UK are two countries that have few similarities to talk about. Their cultures, histories, origins, lifestyles, natives, everything is quite different. UAE is a relatively new country as compared with the United Kingdom. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the history and genesis of an organized fire-fighting department in the two countries, i.e. UAE and UK. UK being a much older country than UAE, all its departments are very old and experience. It is true for its fire-fighting department that dates back to the 16th century whereas if we compare this with UAE it is a relatively new phenomenon. The paper also explores various leadership and management theories and the circumstances of using the theories. The paper examines the difference in the leadership characteristics of the two countries in terms of their fire services. The paper also serves another purpose of examining the history, services, and the role that fire fighting plays. The diverse cultural and environmental backgrounds of the two countries make the comparison more interesting. Historical Perspective and Role Brief History of the Fire department of UAE The fire department of UAE comes under the jurisdiction of Civil defense that was formed in 1976. The Civil defense of UAE has responsibilities such as the security of the citizens, the security of the private and public properties, safe rescue of victims, transportation of citizens securely, security of national wealth during war and emergency situation. Since all these responsibilities are of the department of Civil Defense, therefore, the responsibility of fire services is also their responsibility. It is one of the main organs of the interior ministry under the supervision of general directorate of Civil defence. It was a requirement that the interior ministery must take all possible steps to ensure that the directorate of civil defence and the department officials perform their duties properly. Role of fire services in UAE Fire department of UAE like all the other fire departments in the world protects the lives of the citizens. Similar is the role of the fire department of the Civil Defense is to ensure protection of the citizens of UAE against fire. The sole aim of the department of Civil Defense e unit was the protection of property and life of the citizens of UAE. Therefore, the fire department plays a phenomenal role in the fulfillment of the agenda of the Civil defense. One of the major responsibilities of the fire department is the safety passage of citizens trapped in a fire. Similarly, safety of property both public and private becomes the next thing on their agenda. Fire department is also required for the installment of necessary equipment and technology to facilitate better protection and security (Dubai civil Defence, 2007). Brief history of Fire Services in Great Britain United Kingdom is an old country and so are its departments. The people of the country had their first encounter with organized fire fighting in 43 A.D. This was the time when Romans had invaded the United Kingdom. Fire fighting is one department that has not changed significantly over the years, though it has facilitated from technology like other departments. Fire was blown out by throwing buckets of water or syringes that squirted water with pressure on the fire. The city of London experienced a horrible fire ever in the year 1666 known as the Great fire of London. The fire resulted in changing the perspectives of the people regarding fire fighting and all of them came up with different ideas towards fire fighting and the outcomes. All these events became the cause for the organization of a proper, disciplined fire-fighting department. In this regard, the act for fire services introduced in 1947 is of significance. It became effective on 1st April 1948. After the implementation of the acts, 148 fire brigades became operational under County Council and County Borough. However, these brigades of County and City were united in 1974. This unison took place because of the reorganization of the local government. The Act was updated in 2004. Recently, a number of fire brigades have been taken away from the authorities of local government and given to private authorities. The number of brigades total 63 in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (UK Fire services resources group, 2007). Role of fire services in UK The role of fire services in UK is the same as any other department, i.e. to ensure the safety of citizens in case of a fire. The department is well experienced and has been under constant evolution for hundreds of years. The safe exit of the citizens is the first priority, with safety of private and public property being the second. Operating environments of UK and UAE The role of the fire services in both the countries is pretty much the same as in other parts of the world. However, the discrepancy lies in their operational environment. UAE fire department is a division of the Civil Defense and that is why government is responsible for its adequate functioning. The Civil Defense act covering other aspects of civil security and protection of life and property also covers the act for fire services. On the contrary, in England, the fire department is a private property running under different private authorities. However, all of them are governed by a single act of 1947 including the modifications that have been done to it. A major difference between the fire services of the two countries is their experience with fire fighting. The England fire department has evolved with the passage of time and has become skillful by experience of facing drastic circumstances; whereas the UAE fire department has learned the techniques and methods devised by other successful fire departments of different countries. Therefore, the English fire service men have become experts in their job along with the discipline where as the UAE fire service men and the department is still evolving. Leadership and Management Concepts Professional work is the result of an expert team working in synchronization with each other below their boss. That is why, the leader or manager of any department in the world is given a lot of important. Several people have come up with different theories that have proven to be successful in different scenarios. Sometimes, leaders or managers use a particular theory subconsciously. The theories that are of importance are; Contingency theory, Instrumental theory, Inspirational theory, and Path-goal theory of leadership. The Contingency theory defines the leadership and management styles that are effective. It arguments that the effective leadership or management style is one that varies according to the circumstances and the situation at hand. An example of this theory is the managerial grid of Blake and Mouton that became very famous and successful in organization development practice. The second is the Instrumental theory. This theory argues that the decision of leaders should be situational. That is, they should deal according to task and the person in order to gain effective performance from others. The next in line is the Inspirational theory. This theory supports that the personality traits of a leader should be charismatic and transformational. The leader must give significance to passions, theories, perceptions and ideas of others and motivates others for changes and innovation by providing them with confidence. The last theory in terms of leadership and management theory is the Path-goal theory. This theory is representatives of the techniques that a leader or a manager must adopt to motivate his people to perform well and at the same time gain satisfaction from their work. This theory has its backgrounds in the expectancy theory of motivation that includes four styles of leadership, supportive, directive, participative and achievement oriented. The choice of the theory is completely dependent on the leader and the situation. It also depends on the outcome that they want to draw from a particular situation and the people. A successful leader’s strategy should derivation of moral commitment and a great sense of respect from subordinates. To achieve this, a leader must have a sense of vision, passion to do be something, the ability of self-sacrificing, take the right risks at the right time, understanding behaviors, etc. Majority of people do not see any difference between the two. In most organizations, the higher managements also perform the tasks of leadership, if they are authorized to do so. This method does not have any significant disadvantages, but the theory of management and leadership is significantly different from what is actually going on. In theory, the responsibility of a manager involves the administration, maintenance, focus on the controlling and system, short-term goals and ideas. He is also responsible for asking how, when, from the leadership and keeps a close check of the bottom lines. On the other hand, leadership in theory is responsible for innovation, focusing on people, building trust, mutual work relationship. The leadership is also responsible for asking what and why, always keeps the long-term view in mind. Its focus is on the horizon (Leadership Theories, 2005). One thing that adds a little discrepancy in these theories is the fact that they do not take into account the cultural difference and traditions. The processes and procedures of any organization are also dependent on these traditions. Therefore, one might come across some sort of deviation in different environments. Another point that these theories fail to address is the role of women in leadership and management. Women over the years have become involved in all types of departments and organizations. Their role in management and leadership is also missing from these theories. The management and leadership environment of the UAE Like all other organized departments, the departments of Civil defense also operate in a hierarchy. The general manager is the person at the top of the hierarchy in the department of Civil Defense. He has different responsibilities of monitoring all other sub-divisions of Civil defense. The person at the top of the hierarchy for the fire services department is the Assistant director general. A successful leadership results in quality work and skillful work that the subordinates produce under it. Proper planning and management are also important aspects. The fire services has been further divided into sub-departments. This division of departments into proper channels is reflective of the fact that the management is taking into account all the aspects of fire and rescue operations. It also includes a risk analysis and monitoring system available for fire services responsible for proper analysis of risks and monitoring the devices and types of services provided by the fire departments. The traits of the leadership in UAE are significantly different from what we would come across in European countries. The reason is that the UAE and other countries of the Arab world are lead by Arabs and they come from an entirely different thinking pattern that is driven by different ethics and morals. Therefore, the leadership in UAE has some problems. New people need to chip in it so that they can come up with fresh ideas for the improvement of the fire services and the country as a whole. There are numerous people that come from the school of thought that leaders need to developed systematically for all departments within the UAE. The management and leadership environment of the UK The fire department of United Kingdom is an experienced one. They are among the pioneers of organized fire fighting. The organized fire fighting started as early as in sixteenth century. The quality of this department is resulting from experience and extensive training. Moreover, since all the departments run under different private authorities but on same legal acts, there is competition among them as well. The leaders of the department motivate their service men by challenging the current method of doing things, comparison with competitors, introducing competition by innovating operating methods, systems, technological advancements, etc. They also set for themselves goals that all the team members want to achieve and all of them can relate strongly with the goal. They also have a set of shared values that drives the decisions and actions of not only the servicemen but also the leaders. The leadership and management along with the service work hand in hand on maintaining the integrity, teamwork, accountability, honesty and excellence of service of the department (Total Fire services, 2008). The society of England is also involved with the departments as the evolution of the fire services took place right in front of them and they are completely aware of the department and the services it provides. The English fire department is very organized and disciplined as a result of an aspiring management. Summary At last, if we look at the genesis and evolution of the fire departments in both the countries, i.e. the UK and UAE, there are several differences between them. UK fire fighting services are among the pioneers of organized fire fighting and that is why they have experience and skill. Similarly, the not only the leadership but the whole department is more experienced, organized, and well-equipped; whereas, UAE is itself a relatively new country. As a result, all the departments are in experienced and so is their leadership. The Arab concept of leadership is the driving force in the UAE. The leadership in the Arab world is more authoritative than democratic. However, UAE is also trying to pace up with the rest of the world in terms of development and technology and so is its fire department. Citation A brief history of fire services in the UK. 2007. UK Fire services resources group, Retrieved on June 7, 2008 from < http://www.fireservice.co.uk/history/ > Leadership Theories. People organization models concept. March 8, 2005. Retrieved on June 7,2008 from < http://www.onepine.info/lead1.htm > Fire Safety consultant. Total Fire Services. Retrieved on June 7, 2008, from < http://www.totalfireservicesltd.co.uk/profile.htm> Dubai Civil Defence, Ministery of Interior. 2002-2007. Retrieved on June 7, 2008 from Read More