Essay Sample on Managing Diversity in the 21st Century Fire Service

According to Desler (2013), personnel management refers to the activities and policies in the performance of management tasks in the domain of human resources, through acquiring, training, evaluation and compensation within a fair and safe environment for employees. Managing diversity is one of the issues under human resource management. The difference in this context means that the workforce in the fire departments should be a reflection of the community the fire company serves. The overarching goal is that fire departments should reflect diversity in the city. This has been reinforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in the civil rights of Americans stating that it is illegal for employers to refuse to hire an individual or discriminate against an employee concerning terms & conditions, compensation, or privileges based on color, sex, religion, race or origin. Additionally, Limiting or classifying applicants or employees in any way that results in depriving their employment opportunities or affecting their employment status due to their race, origin, sex, or color.

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Leadership in fire departments is essential in the application of EEOC`s requirements which include job affairs, community outreach, peer group coaching, and pre-employment preparation. The issues underlying managing diversity include the Fire Officer`s response to Actionable items which are employee behaviors requiring immediate intervention and corrective action by departmental supervisors. Failing to act leads to many lawsuits that create loss and liability to the department. The supervisor should work immediately in such scenarios meaning he/she has to speak to both parties, that is, the offender and the offended individual privately. The fire officer presents the department`s EEOC policy statement to the offender and provides counseling on the code of conduct required.

Hostile workplace and sexual harassment- the EEOC regulations broaden the types of harassment considered illegal and regarded as a requirement of employees to maintain a work environment free of harassment. Sexual harassment is uninvited, unwanted, and unwelcome intimacy and attention in a nonreciprocal relationship. Hostile workplace complaints are deemed to shape diversity in workplaces. These complaints can either be reported to the federal government, local government, or the fire department. When they are first reported to the fire officer, he or she should know the procedure for handling a hostile workplace or harassment complaints.

The Solutions and Recommendations for Managing Diversity

The first way to handle issues is through ethical behavior. The fire officer demonstrates ethical behavior through the creation of models and making decisions consistent with the departmental mission statement and core values. Fire officers should portray ethical conduct by doing what`s right, being honest and performing competently. For public safety personnel ethical behavior includes the provision of the best security and service.

The second solution is by using leadership styles to combat diversity. According to Garry Yukl leadership is the process by which an individual influences others to agree and understand what needs to be done, how it can be done and the process of facilitating their efforts in the achievement of different and shared goals.

Fire officer is given the authority to be a leader of the fire department hence they can use various leadership styles to manage departmental diversity such as

Democratic leadership in which the fire officer all creativity and ingenuity of the employees in determining ways to meet objectives. All opinions are essential in making decisions to incorporate various group needs and satisfaction (Wakabi, B. M. 2016). It is useful when developing work plans and projects.

Autocratic leadership is useful when high control of the group is required. The fire officer makes decisions for the department without consideration of other employees. It is necessary when a company is involved in an emergency or high-risk situation (Ward, M. J. 2013). This leadership style helps to implement corrective decisions that are needed for a specific time.

Laissez-Faire is useful when dealing with experienced firefighters and when operations involve routine duties that are less risky. It is where everyone is given the authority to make decisions about the activity they are involved in.

Motivational techniques for managing diversity include transparent decision-making to reduce on resistance to development in the organizational setting, setting adequate and attainable goals for example weekly to cut on employee frustration, allocating work to each employee and help develop individual employees rather than groups. The fire officer should be let employees lead hence empowering them to become leaders. An open-door policy would trigger reporting of complaints within the department, therefore, reducing on lawsuits.

To sum up, management refers to the activities and policies in the performance of management tasks in the domain of human resources, through acquiring, training, evaluation and compensation within a fair and safe environment for employees. Managing diversity is one of the issues under human resource management. The supervisor should act immediately in such scenarios meaning he/she has to speak to both parties, that is, the offender and the offended individual privately. The fire officer presents the department`s EEOC policy statement to the offender and provides counseling on the code of conduct required.

References

Desler, G. (2013). Human Resource Management: Always learning.

Wakabi, B. M. (2016). Leadership style and staff retention in organizations. International Journal of Science and Research, 5(1), 412-416.

Ward, M. J. (2013). Fire Officer: Principles and practice. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.