Fire Department Company Officer Flashcards
Act of controlling, monitoring, or directing a project, program, situation, or organization through the use of authority, discipline, or persuasion
Managing —
Act of directing, overseeing, or controlling the activities and behavior of employees who are assigned to a particular supervisor
Supervising —
Act of controlling, directing, conducting, guiding, and administering through the use of personal behavior traits or personality characteristics that motivate employees to the successful completion of an organization’s goals
Leading —
The leader tells subordinates what to do and how to do it with little or no input from them.
Autocratic
a.The leader includes employees in the decision-making process and allows them to work with the least amount of supervision necessary.
Democratic
a. In French, it literally means to allow to do.
b. The leader leaves employees to make all the decisions and does not supervise them at all.
Laissez-faire
Is based on the belief that there is no single best leadership style
Contingency leadership theory
a. Inspires follower loyalty and creates an enthusiastic vision that others work to attain
b. Includes leaders with strong personalities; it is sometimes difficult to separate the personality of the leader from that of the organization
c. Makes it difficult to find replacement if leader dies or leaves the organization
Charismatic
a. Depends on continuous learning, innovation, and change within the organization
b. Includes a leader that works to involve followers in the change process, challenges them to attain their full potential, and creates follower satisfaction and growth while still meeting organizational goals
c. Has leaders that are often identifiable by their dedicated followers
Transformational
a. Involves an exchange between a leader and followers in which followers perform tasks effectively in exchange for rewards provided by the leader
b. Can be used by first-line supervisors and middle-level managers who have the authority or ability to provide rewards
Transactional
a. Bases theory on a strong organizational culture that holds common values and beliefs
b. Has leadership that starts at the top of the organization and extends downward to the first-line supervisor
c. Views leaders as infallible; employees and subordinates have full faith and trust in the leadership of the organization
d. Means that employees fail to question leadership decisions or to speak openly when management makes apparent errors
Symbolic
a. The average worker is inherently lazy, dislikes work, and will avoid it whenever possible.
b. Because of their inherent dislike of work, most workers must be coerced into performing adequately by threats of punishment.
c. The average worker prefers to be closely supervised and shuns responsibility because of a general lack of ambition.
1.Theory X
a. The average worker does not inherently dislike work – in fact, most workers feel work can be as natural as play or rest.
b. Workers will perform adequately with self-direction and self-control without coercion.
c. Workers will support organizational objectives if they associate those objectives with their personal goals.
d. The average worker learns not only to accept responsibility but, in fact, also learns to seek responsibility.
e. Only a small part of the worker’s intelligence, ingenuity, and imagination is ever harnessed, but with proper leadership, workers will excel.
Theory Y
1.Says that involved workers are the key to increased productivity and that each worker can perform autonomously (without supervision) because all workers are trustworthy
Theory Z
What are the 4 Leadership styles:
a. Directive — Leader gives specific guidance to subordinates
b. Supportive — Leader shows concern for subordinates
c. Participative — Leader asks for suggestions from subordinates
d. Achievement-oriented — Leader establishes high goals and expects high performance from subordinates
Highly capable individual: Person who makes productive contributions through talent, knowledge, skills, and good work habits
Level 1 leader —
Contributing team member: Person who contributes individual capabilities to the achievement of group objectives and works effectively with others in a group setting
Level 2 leader —
competent manager: Person who organizes people and resources toward the effective and efficient pursuit of predetermined objectives
Level 3 leader —
Effective leader: Person who catalyzes commitment to and vigorous pursuit of a clear and compelling vision, stimulating higher performance standards
Level 4 leader —
- Executive: Person who builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional willpower
- Has characteristics that the others do not
- Has a strong personal character and humility and is focused on a vision of a goal
- Is an example for fire officers to strive for
Level 5 leader
a.Is an informal process of giving motivational direction, positive reinforcement, and constructive feedback to employees in order to maintain and improve their performances and ensure successful performances
Coaching employees
a.Is a formal process that involves activities that assist participants in identifying and resolving personal, behavioral, or career problems that are adversely affecting performance
Counseling employees
Ability to reason and present a strong argument in favor of or against a position
Logic —
Analysis of the principles of human conduct in order to be able to determine between right and wrong
Ethics
Arrives at a general conclusion based on a foundation of specific examples or data
Inductive reasoning
Reaching a specific conclusion based on a general statement or principle
Deductive reasoning
Is also known as cause-and-effect reasoning
- Is based on the relationship between two or more events in such a way that is obvious one caused the other to occur
- Is effective when a factual, direct link is established between the cause and the effect
Causal reasoning
- Is based on a comparison between two similar cases
2. Infers that what is true in the first case will also be true in the second case
Analogical reasoning
False or fallacious reasoning that occurs when someone attempts to persuade others without sufficient supporting evidence or by using irrelevant or inappropriate arguments
Fallacy —
Makes a weak, easily refuted statement to take attention away from the main point, thus creating a distraction from the main point
Straw man —
Makes an argument or conclusion that is based on insufficient or nonexistent evidence; can also result in stereotyping
Hasty generalization
Occurs when someone uses irrelevant facts to distract the listener from the main issue; is the staple of many politicians who are asked a specific question and then avoid answering it by raising other issues
Red herring —
Concludes something that simply does not follow the main premise of the argument
Non sequitur —
Consists of a series of worsening consequences that result from the initial decision or action
Slippery slope —
Deal with actual issues by establishing principles, defining duties and obligations, and creating and defining the limitations of rights within a society. They are established by legislative and government agencies and constitutions.
Substantive —
Define the judiciary rules or mechanisms used to enforce substantive laws. They are established by legislative actions and constitutions.
Procedural —
Failure to exercise the same care that a reasonable, prudent, and careful person would under the same or similar circumstances
Negligence
Commission of an unlawful act; committed by a public official
Malfeasance —
Improper performance of a legal or lawful act
Misfeasance —
Failure to act when under an obligation to do so; refusal (without sufficient cause) to do that which is a legal duty
Nonfeasance —
Level of care a reasonable person would use under similar circumstances; standard of behavior by which the theory of negligence is based upon
Standard of care —
Doctrine that the federal, state/provincial, or local government is immune to lawsuit unless it gives its consent
Sovereign immunity
Situation that occurs when one person is held responsible for the actions or inactions of another individual; also applies to the liability incurred by an organization for the actions or inactions of an employee
Vicarious liability —
- This doctrine holds that firefighters, rescuers, and other emergency responders know the risks involved and are trained to deal with those risks; they are not entitled to redress (compensation for injuries) from the property owner for injury suffered as a result of performing their duty.
- Exception — If the injury was the result of a crime such as arson or the property owner’s gross negligence or willful and wanton disregard for the firefighter’s safety
Fireman’s Rule
A.Occupational Safety and Health Administration )
(OSHA
OSHA Title 29 contains regulations that are designed to protect the safety and health of all workers including firefighters and emergency responders:
a. Part 1910.120 addresses training requirements and emergency response requirements for hazardous materials incidents.
b. Part 1910.134 addresses operations that require the use of respiratory protection when working in situations that are confirmed or suspected of being immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH).
c. Part 1910.146 addresses operations in confined spaces, including incidents involving tanks, bins, grain elevators, trenches, elevator shafts, or collapsed structures.
Civil Rights Act
1.From a public employment perspective, one of the most important parts of the Act is Title VII, which eliminated discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, and sex (gender).
2.In 1967, the category of age (40-70) was added to this list, and in 1978, pregnancy was added.
D.Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC)
When did people get over time
The FLSA of 1938 guaranteed that workers in the private sector would be paid overtime at a time and one-half salary rate if they worked more than 40 hours in 1 week.
2.Because of the atypical work schedules of police and firefighters, Congress passed an exemption to the 40-hour rule for local public safety agencies. what was it
a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1985.The FLSA workweek was set at 43 hours for police and 53 hours for firefighters.
Factor that prevents the receiver from fully receiving the message
Interference —
Establishing new relationships or maintaining an existing one
Relating —
Controlling, directing, or manipulating behavior
Influencing —
Meanings may change over time or be different for different people
Arbitrary —
Words that are not specific or do not have agreed-upon definitions
Ambiguous —
Generalizations rather than concrete or tangible
Abstract —
a. Accumulation of all the other nonverbal elements into one image of self-confidence and authority
b. Mastering helps to overcome nervousness
Poise
1.Are a guide to decision-making within an organization
Policies
1.Are a detailed plan of action; written communication that is similar and closely related to a policy
Procedures
Emergency scene casualties per year
.Approximately 88,000 per year
a. This figure amounts to one-half of all fire and emergency services injuries reported annually.
b. Two thousand of these are potentially life threatening.
Firefighter fatalities
- Average of 117 per year, 2000 to 2006
- Leading causes
a. Heart attacks resulting from physical stress (40 percent of all line-of-duty deaths [LODD] in 2005)
b. Motor vehicle accidents (20 percent of all emergency incident fatalities since 1977) - Emergency responses result in only 3 percent of firefighter fatalities.
- EMS operations fatalities: 50 percent, trauma; 38 percent, heart attacks