Managing Change in the Fire Services - Coursework Example

MANAGING CHANGE IN THE FIRE SERVICES by Student’s Name Code + Course Name Professor University City/State Date Managing Change in the Fire Services Change management in the fire services can be problematic due to the role played by tradition. In the fire service, tradition is deep rooted in their culture (Mill 2006, p.1). Effective change management is recommended to validate and quantify organizational deficiencies. management of change refers to a continuous process of renewing firm`s structure, direction, and abilities to serve the ever-evolving needs of its internal and external stakeholders (Moran & Brightman (2001, p.111). In order for any business to thrive in the present competitive and ever-changing business world, change management is a crucial tool. In this 21st century, change is an element of a firm`s life, both at strategic and operational level. In reality, change is essential in any firm since it helps in ascertaining where it needs to be in the future and how to manage the necessary changes to achieve the needed success. As a result, change cannot be separated from organization strategy (Todnem 2005, p.369). On the other hand, change management is not a new concept in fire services. Nevertheless, the absence of an endemic and generic change framework for guiding and managing change in fire services has made change processes in the sector futile (Barnard & Stoll 2010, p.2). It is, therefore, vital for the fire service to pursue the best approaches so that the process is implemented effectively and efficiently. In order to assist managers and leaders of fire services to mesh new ideas with the existing ones, this paper explores ways in which the framework for management, leadership, and change can direct organizational change. In addition, it will evaluate the potential hurdles that can hinder the fire services organisations from achieving that objective. Framework for Management, Leadership, and Change In the fire service, a relationship exists between outdated leadership styles, damaging organization practices, and culture. The current leaders and their autocratic leadership styles are a product of an embedded culture where value expectations and visions are not shared. Moreover, the culture assesses hard life lessons in isolation since firefighters are still dying at an arming rate despite technological advancements. Although change management is not a new concept, change will continue to improve the industry through quality enhancement of the current practices while undergoing rebirth through innovations and strategizing for the future. The change management framework as described by Burnes (2004) offers a guide for leaders and managers to establish a change management plan using eight essential elements. These eight key element will assist in ensuring change management in a fire services organization is successful and effective. I. Laying out the foundation for new strategies; Leadership and Readiness for Change In laying out the new strategies, the management of fire service has transformed the leadership style to set the path for change. Burnes (2004) links leadership with the process of change management. Therefore, it is the responsibility for leaders to facilitate change in an organization. Leadership readiness for change and planning how to facilitate change will ensure a smooth flow of the process (Barnard & Stoll 2010, p.3). The leaders of fire services have to act as a role model and move from autocratic leadership style and adopt transformational leadership style. Transformational leadership is directly linked to a commitment to change. Following transformational leadership, these leaders will have the ability to create a vision, boost group acceptance, and transform organization culture. Moreover, the transformational leadership style may as well layout the structure of the organizations since it will spur planned and evolving change process and create a commitment from the top to down. As a result, innovation will emerge from the employees themselves hence boosting the process (Voet, Kuiper, & Groeneveld 2013, p.12). Much literature has been written about the role and behavior of leaders and managers and change management. Lewin’s literature is among the influential one since it is stipulated that change involve three step models, which include unfreezing present behaviors, stepping to the new behavior, and refreezing the new behavior. Other theories, for instance, to Kotter's eight-step process and Luecke's Seven Steps showing that the leaders and managers are responsible for the successful change management (Todnem 2005, p.4). Currently, the role of fire service leaders have changed since they are responsible for managing terrorism-mandated changes in organizational strategy. Previous fire services leaders were managing small organizational changes, for instance, change in personnel, technology, and expectations of the society. Nevertheless, after the U.S attack on 9/11, fire services require contemporary leaders who can manage organizational change strategy that are of greater magnitude than ever before. Therefore, transformational leadership will play a major role in change management (Voet, Kuiper & Groeneveld 2013, p.12). In preparations, leaders and managers in fire service should assess and examine the factors that fuel organization change in order to prepare for their department for any changes that may be required. Typically, these factors stem from environmental and performance gaps (Mill 2006, p.1). In order to react to changes of greater magnitude, these leaders and managers must have a deep understanding of organization culture, people process, and its structure. Understanding this will enable them choose and lay out the foundation of change, as well as identifying the barriers to the change (Barnard & Stoll 2010, p.3). A performance gap is the difference between the actual and intended action, and this gap affects the attainment of the goal. Performance gaps can be external or internal. External performance gaps indicate those fields in which new or extra services or time span of delivery of service is required for the community. On the other hand, internal gaps involve training and equipment. Fire services chief leaders must ensure that firefighters have adequate training and modern equipment, which will facilitate ease in operations. Environmental factors as well drive change and firms operation. Economic, political, and social factors such as tax revenue can fuel change. Economy changes influence the fire services in respect to staffing level, capital budgets, and salary benefits. In politics, chief leaders in fire services must develop competency. Politics affects fire services because most entities are political sub-division. For instance, a new mayor can bring new leadership in fire services that will bring change in management (Mill 2006, p.1). Identifying where the change is necessary and sustaining a global view of external factor could affect change management within a firm. This will enable fire service managers and leaders to attain the awareness they need to develop the staff and culture that will contribute to implementing the change. II. Communicate the Change to all Stakeholders After laying out the foundation and defining the problems, the next step is maintaining open communication with those who are mostly affected by the change and let them be involved in the process. The main idea behind communicating the vision is to provide stakeholders with a road map of the change strategy. The leaders and managers of fire services must be instrumental and consistency in that they will be able to describe the plan, structure, execute, and manage it. Moreover, they are supposed to act as a role model because communication includes both action and words (Plato 2012, p.3). III. Establishing the Clarity of Purpose or Sense of Importance The next step the managers and leaders should adopt is to clarify the purpose of change by outlining its objectives. This stage involves intense consultations; therefore, the vision must have a great sense of importance, promote dissatisfaction with status quo, and inspire and cheer stakeholders. Clarifying the vision will serve as a guidepost for all decisions-making process (Plato 2012, p.3). Leader’s courage, confidence, and communication skills in clarifying the vision are relied on since they are qualities of a transformational leader. Effective leaders and managers use communication as a tool to keep their employees informed and reduce speculations that always surrounds change process. Keeping employees informed will minimize the effect of fear linked with change because information is power (Mill 2006, p.1). IV. Developing a Change Team or describing Change Management Interventions The other step that the leaders should take into account is to develop a strategic team that will develop a project or change management plan and describe change management activities. Firefighters should be encouraged to participate and those who perform well rewarded as well as replacing those who are unable or unwilling. Leaders should mobilize all the parties involved and give the necessary support that will encourage teamwork and participation (Plato 2012, p.4). V. Creating Strategic Alliances The next process is to create strategic alliances. In this stage, all activities and plans are shared out. In the fire service, strategic development models must be acknowledged with respect to society's current cognitive and political aspects. Therefore, leaders must acknowledge society as an amalgamation of different people and group with different thoughts expectation and values. Contributions received from society partnerships will be effective in maintain the process in times of turbulence. In addition, the probability of changes taking roots expands when all stakeholders contribute to decision-making (Cox 2012, p.4). VI. Maximizing Connectedness The next step is to identify and boost relationships with all stakeholders in order connect the vision of the organization culture and eliminate resistance through engagement. The success of organizational change management is dictated by the culture of the firm. Aligning the vision with the culture will empower employees, direct, and guide them toward managing the vision. Nevertheless, transforming employees’ behavior in implementing change is a vital challenge. Therefore, this necessitates vision that has impacts in thoughts and emotions. Leaders can communicate new norms and values through employing multiple levels such as acting as role models or aligning reward structure with the change process. Since organizational rites symbols and ritual actions are resistant to change, maximizing connection will enhance improvement of the process (Cox 2012, p.5). VII. Creating and Celebrating Short Term Goals In this step, leaders should encourage short-term goals or interim goals and celebrate their win. The vision should widespread into phases and into those phases, leaders must set short-term objective and acknowledge their outcome. In reality, change is about people, and as a result, change must mind people. Since, in fire services, most employees are proud of their tradition, the leader must set short-terms goals for new changes to impact employee's capacity to learn new behaviors. Celebrating an achievement of an objective with rewards and compensations on the other hand, gives employee motivation to own up and participate in the next level of change implementation (Plato 2012, p. 4). VIII. Consolidating Performance and Instituting New Mechanisms Finally, this step entails monitoring change process to ascertain that it is solving the problems. From the start of the process, a formal effort for instance use of PIRI or Plan, Implement, Review and Improve cycle, work process improvement and workforce planning should be in place to assess and review effectiveness of the process. In addition, leadership development will ensure firm’s responsiveness to change. Leaders must remain closely involved during all the design and implementation process. As a result, they will adapt and able to identify trends, know what to input or disregard and refine the process. They should as well pull the plug on the non-operative changes (Plato 2012, p.4). In fact, keeping an ineffective change process is not only time wasting and expensive but it calls for extra cynicism and resistance for any other project. Therefore, leaders should be thorough during implementation. It is worth to note that throughout the assessment feedback session plays a major pivotal role. Allowing participatory engagement through feedbacks sessions build a sense of commitment and ownership of the process by the team (Mill 2006, p.1). Potential barriers to achieving the kind of Changes Needed to Implement in Practice For strategic change to be successful in fire services, leaders must ensure organizational resistance to change (Cox 2012, p.6). According to Barnard and Stoll (2010, p.6), one ultimate issue to the successful change management is employees’ acceptance of the change. Resistance to change is one of the key obstacles to change management. Some employee will resist change no matter how the leaders have clarified and communicated the process and how it is will be beneficial to them. Other resists because the current reality is beneficial to them. In reality, employees who are enjoying their status quo and antedate that looming change will influence their stake will resist because the change will put their interest in jeopardy. As a result, they will slow down or disrupt the change process because the impending change is not aligning with their interest (Mill 2006, p.1). One of the major concepts that have been significant when applied in the management of change in a firm is that, every individual undergo five stages of grief when faced with a change or loss. These are denial, bitterness, bargaining, and acceptance. This theory assists leaders in directing communication and encouraging employees during the entire change process and should be tailored according to the level employee has reached. For instance, in fire service, automatically, due to tradition and culture, when news of the change is conveyed, most employees will start tackling their denial. Once they consume the information, they will sink into anger and bargaining and as a result, depression starts forming. Thus, they require every kind of support from the management, and when they accept the situation the leaders should clarify the vision in order to keep them committed (Barnard & Stoll 2010, p.6). On the other hand, each employee can have his or her own reaction, which is very different from others. Sometimes, change resistance is based on personality, as well as the context of which it occurs. In addition, fear increases change resistance. When an employee fears uncertainties or doubt the capability of adapting to changes, it affects their willingness to accept. In view of this fact, when employees take in the notion that their leaders are self-centered and cannot trust them, they resist changes. Although communication serves as a tool for reducing fear and combat cynical defiance, the same tool can be used to express fear (Mill 2006, p.1). Lack of trust has powerful impacts on combating resistance to change since fears and cynical attitude can be conquered when leaders are role models. Furthermore, when employees are given much information at a go regarding change, they seem to resist it because it overwhelms them. Therefore, leaders should balance or set a short-term goal when communicating the vision. On the other hand, if the change has a negative effect on an employee, hearing of more changes will automatically increase resistance. Consequently, this clearly shows the significance of the role of leaders regarding communicating the vision. In order to spur employee to accept changes, in depth- analysis of the vision, structure, personnel and culture of the firm is necessary. From our discussion, it is clear that one approach of minimizing resistance is communication and empowering the employee to take the initiative themselves. For example, a study of the U.S. fire service reveals that, one method of avoiding employee resistance and achieve in change implementation is through communication and participation (Cox 2012, p.18). Nonetheless, employee participation should be coupled with leaders support, encouragements, rewards, and innovation throughout the process. Other factors that may contribute to change resistance in fire services include; deep-rooted organization rituals, symbols, rite, and external forces that are supported by the society. Therefore managers and leaders must have the capacity to connect future actions with the present actions, mitigate stress related to change, offers training, facilitation, negotiation, and coercion. Effective leaders will be able to develop strategic change policies that are founded on systematic and logical methodology that integrates all organization departments through understanding the etiology of change resistance (Cox 2012, p.7). Finally, implementing change is one process, and sustaining it is another. Therefore, the leaders should ensure all the implemented projects have substance and are well-supported by all stakeholders to avoid decay or abandonment. Conclusion In fire service, it is evident that change is a continuous element that will enhance improvement of great magnitude. Change has been impacting the sector and will continue to do so. Since change management is not a concept in fire service, effective change management is advisable in order to validate and quantify organization deficiencies. The change management framework, as proposed by Burnes, offers a guide for leaders and managers in fire service that ensures achievement of the objective. The framework has eight steps that guide the leaders and managers they include establishing the foundation for new strategies by ensuring leadership is ready for change. Second is communicating the strategy to all stakeholders. Third are clarifications and consultations. Fourth is establishing a team that will drive or define the vision. Fifth is sharing vision with stakeholders and creating a partnership with the society. Sixth is maximizing connection via fostering engagements. Seventh is crafting short-term goals and celebrating their outcome. Eight is monitoring the implementation process. Nevertheless, employees’ resistance hinders successful change management. They are various reasons for the resistance; for instance, when the change did not align with their interest, or they fear changes. Other factors that support change resistance especially in fire services include deep-rooted organization rituals, symbols, and rite. However, complementary leaders can develop strategic change policies that are founded on systematic and logical methodology that integrates all organization departments through understanding the etiology of change resistance. In addition, leaders should implement, which have substance and involve all stakeholders in implementationto ensure their sustainability. References Barnard, M & Stoll, N n.d., ‘Organisational Change Management: A rapid literature review,’ Centre for Understanding Behaviour Change, pp.1-11. Cox, AT 2012, ‘The significance of fire service culture as an impediment to effective leadership in the homeland security environment,’ Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, California, pp. 1-155. Mills, S 2006, Managing change - fire engineering [Online] Available at: [Accessed 24 April 2015] Moran, JW & Brightman, BK 2001, ‘Leading organizational change’, Career Development International, vol. 6, no.2, pp.111–118 Plante, L 2012, Change management, entrepreneurship, leadership,’ Technology innovation management Review, pp.1-10. Todnem, R 2005, ‘Organizational change management: A critical review,’ Journal of Change Management, pp.1-10. Voet, J, Groeneveld, S & Kuippers, B 2013, ‘Implementing change in public organizations:The relationship between leadership and effective commitment to change in a public sector context,’ Department of Public Administration Erasmus University Rotterdam, pp.1-40. Read More