Tech 454l - Conflict Resolution

Running head: CONFLICT RESOLUTION                                                                      1

Conflict Resolution

Tech 454L

California State University of Los Angeles

CONFLICT RESOLUTION                                                                                        1

Conflict Resolution

        The fire service is built on relationships and customer service.  This can be looked at in different aspects such as in the fire station between coworkers and in the field with the citizens of the community.  Being firefighters in this organization with such a reputation for excellence, we make customer service a large priority.  Not only does the treatment of the citizens we serve reflect the department as a whole, but it also reflects the firefighter who is interacting with the community.  It has been brought to the attention of the chief officers that an incident occurred one evening where two firefighters were perceived to be acting in an unfavorable manner toward two citizens that were on scene of a call.  This type of conduct is frowned upon and such actions will be in direct reflection of the yearly evaluations of the members of the department.  In review of the performance evaluation process, opportunities to correct these actions will be given and these evaluations will be based on the following areas:  participation, communication, competence, satisfaction of work, acceptable norms, coordination/cooperation, and future goals.  The incident that occurred between the two firefighters and the citizen was conduct that falls under communication, satisfaction of work, and acceptable norms.   The communication of where an alleged fire was taking place was being explained to the firefighter on the apparatus.  Only one firefighter acknowledged the citizen and the other two did not.  The failure to receive this vital information from the citizen can be the difference between life and death.  This information is vital to the proper response and this information must be disseminated to all units on sceneas well as in route.  This was not done on this incident and therefore training must be implemented to correct this

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action and record will be noted on the yearly evaluation of those firefighters involved.  Satisfaction of work is a large portion of what the fire department does each day.  The way this event was handled was not becoming of this aspect of our performance evaluations.  It was perceived to be rude based off body language and lack of a friendly warm attitude.  The citizens in our community expect our work to be professional and they should be satisfied with the outcome.  This includes being engaging in conversation, friendly, helpful, and ethical.  If these criteria are not met, it is imperative to receive training in such areas from the appropriate department staff to strengthen these qualities that the department believes in.  Lastly, acceptable norms of the fire department are noted in the policies and procedures that are available in every station.  These norms are the foundation of the department and what we look for in the employees that work on the apparatus.  Following the investigation of the incident, the firefighters are displaying weak qualities in this area.  Not only was the interaction between the citizens unacceptable, but the lack of proper backing procedures as well.  The policies of the fire department state that when backing up the apparatus, one member will be behind the apparatus for assistance in safety of the equipment and potential citizens that might walk into a blind spot of the engineer.  This is mandatory practice and a failure of action was found.  All of the addressed areas must be worked on during the upcoming months and training will be given to ensure proper understanding.  The performance evaluations of the firefighters whom were involved will be presented and reviewed with the employee.  Members of this fire department are the best in the county.  We have selected each and every firefighter because we saw great potential in them.  We notice the great work ethic

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