Organizational Behavior of Fire and Rescue Services Organization - Case Study Example

Insert name Date Task ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR OF ISSUES DEFINITIONS Organizational behavior this is the study and application of knowledge about how people and groups of individuals act in organizations without interrupting people organization relationships in terms of whole person whole group or whole organization (schein 1968) A case study was conducted on a fire and rescue services organization to assess the way groups and also individuals act in the organization with a purpose of creating better relationships through achievement of human objectives organizational objectives and also social objectives. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT The study was to determine how various external environmental factors like economy, government, legal issues and technology affect the organizational behaviour of individuals in an organization and also the organization at large. These factors do have adverse effects on the internal factors like employees, distributors, labour supply etc. Level of technology determines level of industrial productivity, new products services, cost and accessibility of services. (Schein 1968) From top the individuals in the station include the fire chief who establishes the vision and sets goals and objectives of the organization. He plans organizes and directs activities of at the fire and rescue services organization. Fire captains manages organizations of the fire station and commands and evaluates activities of the fire fighters.Liutenants manages supervises 10-15 volunteer fire fighters. They respond to alarms fires and medical alarms. Fire fighters who are the backbone of the organization and they rescue incidents medical and hazardous medical emergencies. (NFPA) In organizational behavior there are four major models which include the autocratic, custodial, supportive and collegial models respectively. The autocratic model entails that employees have a duty and orientation to obey the manager and have total dependence on the boss. Managerial orientation of authority is the basis of this model (schein 1968) Custodial model is based on economic orientation with a managerial orientation of money. Employee’s orientation is on benefits and security thus their dependence on the organization. Supportive model is based on the basis of managerial orientation and support thus employees are oriented towards job performance and participation. Collegial model is partnership with a managerial orientation (schein 1968) this in turn orients employees towards self discipline and also responsible behavior. INDIVIDUALS Organizational development which is the application of behavioral science knowledge at various levels such as individuals, groups and intergroup organization to bring about planned change.(Newstrom,Davis,1993)It aims for improved and higher standards in the field of productivity,worklife,productivity,adaptability and effectiveness. This is accomplished through implementing new attitudes, values, strategies procedures and structures that will help organizations adapt competitive actions and technological advancements. The individual in the fire and rescue service organization learning strategy was experiential learning. Here the learners experiences in the training environment is to be theoretical and not all lecture.Mc gregors theory Y dwells on humanistic values and positive values about the employees potential. This will help in motivation of employees at either individual level or in their respective groups. Job enrichment which is a great motivator .There are a variety of ways to improve job enrichment; skill variety, task udentity, task significant, autonomy and feedback.(Hack man and Oldham,1975)Skill variety is where the employees perform various tasks requiring different skills but they are of the same set. Task identity performance of a specific task and it gives a sense of responsibility. Task significance is the change that work has on other employees and autonomy is the discretion of employees and control over related decisions. The employees with different related skills will be better of if they worked in groups and given feedback as to how they have performed in their tasks to motivate them. There are some dimensions of motivation according to Oldham. Action learning argues that learning occurs as a result of learning, programmed knowledge and ability to ask insightful questions. It combines formal managerial training and learning from experience. Results from conducted projects on organizations with complex problems are analyzed and they learn from experiences. Change is the simplest form discontinuity in the work place is change (knoster, villa, 2000) it does not support the idea of repeating something that we are as familiar with as it is quite comforting to us. The best way to come to insight is allowing them come to their own resolution. All these individuals in the organization learn from the kind of training they received on fire fighting and also in experiences they have encountered in their work. Communication is very vital in such an organization and thus effective modes of communication are a prime necessity. From the fire chief up to the fire fighters communication is the linking factor and thus very vital. Communication helps in improving the quality of services provided by the employees .Communication is one of the major managerial component in an organization. In the fire service organization communication was found to be an important component in manager-employee relations as the fire chief had to effectively communicate to the captain and lieutenant and also the fire fighters. Communication is also a motivation tool and improves the employees morale .It was identified that ineffective communication in the organization resulted to conflict and low morale at work. When the manager clearly communicated clearly with the employees and commends them for how well they do their job it gives them morale and thus they are motivated to offer better services. It also enhances and promotes good relations within the organization through encouraging employees to generate new ideas and also implementing them wherever possible. Personality in the organization which is the personal or individual that makes one different from others helps in creation of a variety of skills within the formed groups by different individuals thus improving the quality of services provided. Definition of roles in the station is very clear according to rank of individual and experience.Captainss has a responsibility of education and creation of awareness to the public, physical fitness, personnel supervisory and discipline. All the other employee’s roles are defined according to hierarchy whether management roles or supervisory roles. Groups in the organization are based on how to complement specific skills within the group and enhancing diversity and quality of services provided. GROUP TEAMS Groups have organized themselves and each group is composed of a lieutenant, captain and fire fighters who have been designated with different locations to respond to. Team work is also encouraged and the lieutenants of every group monitor the quality of work provided by each member in the group thus enhancing responsibility. The various lieutenants then report to the fire chief who is the overall decision maker in the station. Organizational structure and processes within an organization are very vital for high performance in the organization. Structure denotes components and relations that that constitute a particular unit. (Valera 1987) IT refers to components part that comprise the organization. Its attributes distinguishing something .Processes is the social systems interdependent on open and closed systems (glassop 2007) In the fire service station analyzed, energized leadership backed by the best management ideas, and effective organization structure and processes was vital for effective operation of the organization. Poor organization design will result to low employee morale and provision of quality services. Also it was discovered that improved organization structures and work processes enhanced improved employee satisfaction as they develop a culture of commitment, and accountability. Also it helps improve quality of services provided and employees deliver better. It also leads to less waste of resources as the goals of the organization are clearly aligned. STRUCTURE AND PROCESSES Organization structures and processes must be aligned to the strategy in order to achieve meaningful long-term benefits. (Scott sins) A well defined organization with aligned structures and services like the case of the fire service station provides baseline to deliver better services to the public. For example maximum coverage where by the organization has to decide what coverage in their services they provide. Management processes should only exist if they motivate and support successful services provision. They should also be flexible and reflect the needs of the organization. MANAGEMENT The management process of the organization which entails planning, control and performance of the employees and also the whole organization is also very important in organizational behavior. It’s the ensemble of activities through monitoring and evaluation. Management and organization theory which studies organizations, on how they make their strategies and means of adaptation seek to control predict and explain factors in organizational behavior. It enhances both organizational and individual performance within an organization. Organizational culture is a prime factor affecting the environmental conditions of an organization and when analyzing it we tend to borrow the sociological and anthropology perspective. As a fire service station, they are faced by challenges within the organization and they have to look for adapting strategies to survive. As they try to solve these problems they tend to engage in collective learning which leads to shared assumptions and beliefs called culture. Culture is an active living phenomena through which people jointly creates and recreates the worlds in which they live. (Gareth Morgan 2004)Elements of organizational culture include, stated and unstated values, implicit member expectations, customs and rituals and climate. According to Edgar schein, cultural analysis is very valuable when dealing with aspects like irritation, frustration and intractable. Decision making in the organization was the manager’s duty and it involves evaluating alternatives and making a decision regarding a wide range of matters. There is a wide range of decision making. It involves both qualitative and quantitative analysis. It should not be rational judgment only but also non rational factors like personality, peer pressure and organizational situation. Correct decision making entails correct problem formulation therefore decision makers should concentrate on asking the right questions. Organizational conflict is a state of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of needs, values and interests between people working together.(maslowargyris)In the fire service organization, there are conflicts on how work should be divided and how long and hard people should work. Other existing forms of conflicts include jealousy, personality clashes and struggles for power and favor. Personal conflict has a destructive effect on employees and therefore affecting capacity of the affected to deal with problems. Role conflict is also another facet of behavioral conflict and rises from the way roles are shared in the organization. Therefore a well decision making body should be established to deal with both personal and role conflicts within an organization to boost employees morale and also services delivered by the employees. The politics within the organization are also very important in the smooth running of the organization as they affect the motivation of the employees since when there are bad politics within the organization employees will always be demoralized in their work. References 1. Hatch, M. & Cunliffe, A., 2006 2. Lillian Margaret Simms, Sylvia Anderson Price, Naomi E. Ervin (1994). The professional practice of nursing administration‎. p.121. 3. Fredric M. Jablin, Linda Putnam (2000). The new handbook of organizational communication: advances in theory. p.146. 4. Michael I. Reed (1985). Redirections in organizational analysis. p.108. 5.  Baron, Robert A., and Greenberg, Jerald. Behavior in organizations – 9th edition. Pearson Education Inc., New Jersey: 2008. p.248 Read More