Mar 29, 2024  
2022-2023 College Catalog 
    
2022-2023 College Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

FSC 170 - Fire Service Leadership

3 Credits, 3 Contact Hours
3 lecture periods 0 lab periods

Practical training for fire service leadership and supervision. Includes decision-making, problem solving, running a meeting, managing multiple roles, creativity, power, and ethics. Also includes situational leadership, delegation, coaching, and discipline.

Prerequisite(s): FSC 149  
Information: This course meets National Fire Academy (NFA) requirements for Leadership I, II, and III. FSC 170A , FSC 170B , and FSC 170C  together constitute FSC 170.
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Course Learning Outcomes
  1. Define basic decision-making styles.
  2. Describe the requirements for running an effective meeting.
  3. Identify typical multiple roles and responsibilities of a company officer.
  4. Identify the importance of creativity and innovation in fire service organizations.
  5. Identify the basic leadership behaviors and styles.
  6. Identify the levels of employee development.

Performance Objectives:
  1. Match appropriate decision-making styles to given situations.
  2. Cite the advantages and potential disadvantages of group decision-making.
  3. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of individual and group problem-solving.
  4. Identify the major techniques for maximizing individual participation in the group process, brainstorming and nominal group technique.
  5. Demonstrate the ability to facilitate the nominal group technique and brainstorming process.
  6. Outline the critical steps in a problem-solving model.
  7. Discuss the necessity for having planned meetings.
  8. Identify types of meetings and the importance of the meeting agenda.
  9. Identify possible sources of role conflict for the company officer.
  10. Develop and apply a strategy for resolving role conflicts.
  11. Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of role modeling in the fire service.
  12. Discuss the value of diversity in the fire service.
  13. Define creativity and innovation.
  14. Identify ways of fostering creativity in subordinates.
  15. Use effective techniques for selling new ideas.
  16. Identify the types of power.
  17. State the sources and limits of different types of power.
  18. Differentiate between the use and abuse of different types of power.
  19. Identify techniques for enhancing a power base.
  20. Demonstrate an understanding of the importance and impact of ethics upon the fire department and its members.
  21. Demonstrate an ability to make decisions involving ethical practices.
  22. Describe the steps in handling an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaint.
  23. Demonstrate the ability to match employee development with leadership styles.
  24. Identify ways of matching leadership styles to diverse populations of employees.
  25. Define delegation and identify the benefits derived from and the barriers that prevent effective delegation.
  26. Identify the four critical coaching techniques.
  27. Define coaching techniques and demonstrate the ability to match coaching techniques with subordinate performance.
  28. Demonstrate an understanding of the uses of discipline to correct improper employee behavior.
  29. Identify methods for applying discipline consistently, fairly, and impartially.

Outline:
  1. Decision Making Overview
    1. Advantages
    2. Disadvantages
    3. Leader’s role
    4. Decision-making styles
    5. Selecting the right style
  2. Groups
    1. Using groups effectively
    2. Techniques to maximize group participation
  3. Problem Solving
    1. Responsibilities of company officer
    2. Problem solving model
    3. Nominal group technique (NTG)
      1. Silent generation of ideas
      2. Recording ideas
      3. Clarification
      4. Voting
      5. Scoring
    4. Brainstorming
  4. Meetings
    1. Requirements
    2. Types of Meetings
    3. Requirements for running a successful meeting
    4. Meeting agenda importance
  5. Managing Multiple Roles
    1. Company officer and organization role
    2. Role expectations
    3. Sources of role conflict
    4. Role conflict strategy
    5. Role modeling
    6. Handling diversity
    7. Value of diversity in the fire service
  6. Creativity and Innovation
    1. Definition
    2. Elements of creativity and innovation
    3. Creativity  and innovation blocks
    4. Fostering creativity
    5. Selling ideas
  7. Power
    1. Definition
    2. Sources and types of power
    3. Responses to power
    4. Effective use of power
    5. Power skills
    6. Building a power base
  8. Ethics
    1. Definition and importance
    2. Roots of ethics
    3. Principles of ethical behavior
    4. Ethical decision-making
  9. EEOC and the Fire Service
    1. Sources of information
    2. Steps in handling complaints
  10. Situational Leadership
    1. Definition
    2. Leadership styles
    3. Employee development levels
    4. Matching leadership styles with employee development levels
    5. Matching leadership styles to diverse populations
  11. Delegation
    1. Definition
    2. Principles of effective delegation
    3. Benefits and barriers to effective delegation
  12. Coaching
    1. Definition and coaching techniques
    2. Characteristics of an effective coach
    3. Matching coaching style with employee development
    4. Training versus counseling
  13. Discipline
    1. Definition
    2. Positive versus negative discipline
    3. Correcting behavior
    4. Rules and regulations
    5. Progressive discipline
    6. Disciplinary interview
    7. Consistency in discipline methods