Organizational Behaviour in Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service - Case Study Example

Names : xxxxxxxxxxx Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : Organizational Behaviour Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx @2010 Organizational Behaviour Outline of the Case study The case study is on Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue Service that was involved in the Buncefield fire incident. The Buncefield fire incident was a blaze that occurred in the United Kingdom on 11th December 2005 at the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal. The blaze was caused by a sequence of blasts that eventually overwhelmed the place. Hertfordshire was an oil storage tank that was located in Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. It was the fifth largest oil storage in the United Kingdom holding a capacity of sixty million gallons of fuel. The initial explosion at the incident occurred as a result of fuel and air explosion which was of an extremely higher intensity (Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service 2006). The first and most intense explosion took place near the biggest container which was followed by further explosions which ended up covering all the twenty storage tanks at the site. These explosions were so fierce that they could be heard in Belgium and France. The fire was observed by witnesses some who were located about seventy miles away from the site. A very thick smoke could be seen coming out from the site and flames which were as high as hundred feet. The fire caused several damages including breaking of the windows in the buildings that were near the Buncefield oil storage facility and a warehouse that was left with a fallen wall which was located around eight hundred meters from the site. Several people were reported to have been killed and many others injured. Cars in the nearby streets also caught fire and this led to a totally huge damage (Michael & Jones 1999). Rescue to the fire at Buncefield was by the Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, a legislative fire and rescue service that serves the county of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. The fire and rescue service is managed by a Fire Authority which is a constituent of the County Council of Hertfordshire. Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service had the opportunity the handle what was believed to be the largest fire explosion since the Second World War. Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue Service reached the site a few minutes after the fire had been declared a major incident by the officer in charge of the oil storage facility. At their arrival, they were welcomed by a scene of complete destruction highly spreading and covering a large area, with damages reaching to over eighteen Kilometres away from the site (Fire Brigade Society 2007). The response of the Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue Service was also overwhelming since they managed to put off the fire completely within three days. The fire service has an excellent performance and is effective in offering good value for money. However, the service has been experiencing a major drawback in its internal and external structure where it has faced many challenges but has come out successfully. This has left it with a lot of successes that led to improvement in its operations. The service works in conjunction with the external communities and is offering advice to those communities that are at risk. Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service attain three out of four in its resource use. The organization has a higher performance and low costs and portrays a good understanding of the external influences thus letting decisions to be reached upon on valid information (Michael & Jones 1999). The major external environmental influence that is faced by the service is on its efforts to meeting the needs of the community. Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue Service has plans of engaging with the vulnerable communities on education and service provision. The service is working towards empowering the communities and instilling knowledge on their risks. This service aims at properly using its facilities to make sure that the needs of the vulnerable communities are taken into consideration in all its plans and undertakings. The service is also carrying on some projects on the elderly members of the community who have the creativity to connect with the leading staff of the Hertfordshire County. Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue Service connects with the local members on issues such as crime and disease reduction projects. This is achieved by sharing data with the member partners and this produces successful. The service has therefore improved its functions in the community by targeting the young people as their working partners. Most organizations however face challenges due to the interaction of their internal structures and external environments. To avoid this, the leaders of the organizations need to reconstruct themselves in such a way that they will be able to accommodate the needs of the community. To save themselves from the conflicts, Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue Service set up a department that is charged with the roles of dealing with community issues and ensuring that the members if the community are kept as part of their working team (Fire Brigade Society 2007). Role of individuals and teams within organizations For organizations to succeed in all the operations, each individual must concentrate properly on the roles and responsibilities that he or she has been assigned. Goal achievement in any organization is not through efforts of one individual but of the whole organizations. This is because with the nature and the hugeness of some jobs that organizations are involved in, one cannot carry the whole responsibility on his or her shoulders. Some works, for example fire fighting has to be properly strategized and sometimes broken down into sections referred to as departments. The departments can be further broken down into modules where each can be assigned to an individual. However, when the modules are left entirely on one person, there are high chances of failure. It is therefore very important that individuals who are in charge of the modules to collaborate with others form the other modules. In the fire services, the entire response system is all achievable through team work. It is important in training of fire fighters since training requires the experienced to share their knowledge and information with the younger ones in the field. During emergency response, team work is very important since the equipments that are used for the exercise cannot be operated by one person. A fire fighter cannot also be allowed to enter into a burning building alone. The process therefore requires partnership to face the hard task. Teamwork is also essential for the purposes of communication and motivation. There is a need for proper communication within the organization since when people have similar information can work closely. When people are working as a team, morale is usually high and one feels motivated to be in the work. Different team members also contribute different ideas that could help in working out the situation. Team work also increases on accountability safety and efficiency in the activities carried out. During the Buncefield incident, Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue Service could not have succeeded in putting off the fire if they would have worked alone or if the task would have been left for a single person. They collaborated with one hundred and fifty other fire fighters and it still took them three days. When an emergency call was made at the fire and rescue centre, the organization did not send one individual into the site but a large group for the purpose of teaming up, a very important aspect in fire fighting (Committee on Fire Research 1998). Defining roles in an organization In an organization, roles are defined according to the organizational context. Role players are also defined depending on the independence that the player is allowed. Organizations cannot succeed properly if there is no proper definition of each individual’s roles. Roles in any organization range from the top management to the subordinates. Improper definition of roles can lead to confusion in the organizations from the top most individuals to those at the ground. This is because no one has a clear definition of what he or she is supposed to do. The top management is however the body that is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that each and every person is allocated roles and responsibilities that he or she will stand for. The organizational roles are however, defined according to the culture of an organization, its design and structure. The culture of an organization defines the way things are done, the values observed and the shared beliefs. Culture is also defined though shared interactions between the players in the players in an organization where a common behaviour is found. It is therefore form this common behaviour that the system of leadership will be founded and the responsibility that each individual will be given. The structure of the organization also influences the way roles are defined. This is where some organizations are highly branched into departments and modules. The roles will differ in that an individual can be in charge of a small group (a sub module) or a department. The structure of this organization will differ in the level of an individual same as the unit in which he or she is in charge of. The design of an organization also affects the way roles are defined in an organization. Organizational design is needs, goals and objectives of an organization. This affects the way organizational roles are defined in that the management will assign roles depending on the ability of that individual to meet the objectives. This will follow professionalism since one will be assigned the roles which he or he can do best (Fire Brigade Society 2007). In fire and rescue services, some of these factors are often ignored where an emergency has occurred. For example at the Buncefield incident, the Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue Service could not take their time to define who should do this i the other. The emergency response requires that whoever is close to the incident can do anything so as to save the situation. However, in a fire and rescue service, it is very important to train all the members on all the roles that may arise during a fire outbreak so as not to stop the operation in case of absenteeism. Organizational development This is an arranged effort in the organization and by all members in the organization to increase the effectiveness of an organization as well as the viability. It is a response to changes taking place, or a complicated training strategy that aims at changing the beliefs of people, their attitudes, values and the structure of the organization. This helps the employees to adapt better to new technologies, the challenges experienced in marketing, and the harassing nature of the changes. An organizational development is just a form of change process designed to bring some end results (Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service 2006). To achieve development in any organization, there must be changes that have to be done on various aspects in the organization. These changes are very important in an organization. Organizational changes occur when an organization changes its strategies that are aimed towards achieving success, some of its sections are added or removed and the system in which it operates are also changed. Changes also occur by an organization revolving in various life cycles. These cycles are characterized by changes in the organizational culture, and arise of conflicts in an organization. Leaders in any organization must make efforts in accomplishment of efficient and significant changes. An organization that experiences changes more often is a growing organization. This is because most changes are positive and bring in new developments in the organizations and encouraging growth. Organizational culture is a very important aspect of organizational development. Organizational culture refers to the beliefs and values that are observed in an organization. Organizational values are the ideas of the goals that an organization aims at achieving and the specific strategies that the members of the organization want to use in order to achieve these goals. Organizational values develop the organizational norms that describe the behaviour that is adopted by various members of an organization. Corporate culture is the totality of all the traditions, customs and values that contribute to uniqueness of an organization and distinguishing it form other organizations. Corporate culture exhibits the real character of an organization since it has the vision and the mission of the organization. Conflicts in an organization lead to development since when people get into disagreements, they are able to learn from one another and correct their mistakes. Conflicts also channels changes since during a conflict, older things are put on the table and the organization devises new ways of doing things (Michael & Jones 1999). In a fire and rescue services, organizational development is very important since there is a need for continuous build up of such services. This will help in the growth of the fire services and be able to handle big fires that may arise in the future. Organizational culture in the fire and rescue service should be one that promotes cooperation in the rescue services. Organizational management Decision making, power and politics are very important aspects of organizational management. It is the role of the management team to make decisions on behalf of the organization and ensure that they are followed. However, the manner in which decisions are made depends on the structure of the organization. In some organizations, it is very important to involve the employees in decision making. Power struggle and conflicts can seriously destroy the structure and the operations of an organization. This is more so when experienced among the top management team. Conflicts slow down the operations of the organizations since there will be no cooperation and it is hard to make collective decisions (Committee on Fire Research 1998). Power struggle and conflicts are the worst issues that can arise in a fire and rescue service. The management of the Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue Service tries to involve the community members and its employees in decision making. The employees are offered training so as to improve in their efficiency in carrying out the fire rescue roles. But if conflicts and power struggle can arise in such an organization, it can lead to failure and confusion in its services. Bibliography National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Fire Research, 1998, Fire research abstracts and reviews, Volume 18. University of Michigan press, Michigan. Michael, S., & Jones, H., 1999, Organizational management: concepts and practice, Intext Educational Publishers New York. Fire Brigade Society, 2007, Buncefield: The Incident and the Operation to Contain It, Fire Brigade Society, London. Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, 2006, Buncefield: Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service's review of the fire response, The Stationery Office, London. Read More