Discipline has meaning as both a verb and a noun. For this assignment, we will focus on the action of discipline (verb) and develop a plan for behavior modification. Read the scenario below and watch the video link for this assignment. Use your own agency discipline matrix, if you have one, or develop a matrix of your own to address progressive discipline for the scenario. Understanding that discipline is not always about punishment, the truth is it is mostly about modifying someone’s behavior to achieve acceptable performance. Punitive discipline is most often reserved for actions such as termination or suspension. A successful leader can use discipline to modify the employee’s behavior and develop a pathway for the employee to come away from the incident with a new improved attitude and perspective regarding your relationship as a leader.

Video Link:

Scenario:

You are the Company Officer of your station on the “B” shift. Employee John Smith is a 14-year veteran firefighter. He has been assigned to your station for over five years. He is normally early to work, arriving at 7:00 AM for his 8:00 AM shift. He is diligent in checking his equipment, performing station duties, and his uniform is normally pressed and shoes are shined.
Recently John has been late for shift. This is the third occasion and the last time you had advised him he would be facing formal discipline. In addition, his uniform is untidy, and he needs a haircut. The other firefighters on shift have stated he is not pulling his weight and when performing station duties and is often on his cell phone behind the station talking to someone loudly.
Assignment:
Complete a written assignment detailing your counseling session with F/F Smith, his responses, and your recommended discipline (if any).
This is a formal written communication assignment and represents competencies from NFPA 1021.
Your response must be no less than three paragraphs which include a detailed explanation of the meeting between you and Firefighter Smith, the issues you discussed and the plan for improving his performance.

OBJECTIVES: NFPA 1021
4.2.4 Recommend action for member-related problems, given a member with a situation requiring assistance and the member assistance policies and procedures, so that the situation is identified and the actions taken are within the established policies and procedures.
(A)* Requisite Knowledge. The signs and symptoms of member-related problems, causes of stress in emergency services personnel, and adverse effects of stress on the performance of emergency service personnel.
(B) Requisite Skills. The ability to recommend a course of action for a member in need of assistance.
4.4.2 Execute routine unit-level administrative functions, given forms, and record-management systems, so that the reports and logs are complete and files are maintained in accordance with policies and procedures.
(A) Requisite Knowledge. Administrative policies and procedures and records management.
(B) Requisite Skills. The ability to communicate orally and in writing.

Every department has a policy or procedure that can be named for an individual. It most likely was written because someone did or did not do whatever it was the policy was designed to address. Discipline can be small, or it can be large in scale. For example, one of your team comes to work late on occasion might warrant verbal counseling or a coaching card whereas a team member being absent without leave for several hours and no explanation may carry a more severe penalty. For this discussion reflect on the disciplinary situation you observe in one of the three videos linked to this discussion, you may also use a situation you have knowledge of that occurred for a serious infraction of the SOPs or SOGs. Describe the incident to open your post and explain how you would investigate the incident, how would you conduct interviews of the parties involved, how would you address the Firefighter Bill of Rights, and what recommendations for discipline would you make based on your own department’s SOP/SOG. Be sure to make a substantive response and cite your resources including your departmental SOP/SOG using APA 7.

Video Links:
Incident One
https://youtu.be/cIyUg-cTa_E
Incident Two

Incident Three

The majority of incidents a department runs comprise single operational periods. A typical single-family structure fire, for example, a traffic accident with simple extrication, or a medical call. Occasionally we are called to a scene that is complex and requires multiple resources, multiple disciplines, and maybe even multiple agencies to handle. Large-scale incidents can happen at any time. A common principle is the tone of an emergency scene is set within the first fifteen minutes or less on the scene. If first-arriving units can grasp the need for escalating the incident early on it can make a world of difference in the outcome. One example is that multiple alarm resources will take longer to get to the scene due to distance, specialty resources may require call out or cross manned apparatus may require personnel to transfer over to the requested unit. We must be prepared to deal with large-scale incidents even though the frequency may be extremely low. One aspect of a multi-operational incident is the establishment of an Incident Action Plan. Select the link to the FEMA ICS Forms booklet located at the bottom of the ICS forms list and review the components of an incident action plan. Select one section of an IAP and discuss why it is important for the IAP and for emergency calls to run safely and smoothly. You may search and locate a specific IAP used at an incident in your jurisdiction or one from the internet. You should identify the incident and give some background information on what was involved, identify which aspect of the IAP you believe to be important to the success of the incident resolution, and defend your decision with evidence in your response. Cite your resources including the IAP you selected for your discussion answer using APA 7.

ICS Forms Link: https://training.fema.gov/icsresource/icsforms.aspx

In Chapter Three we covered the subject of leadership. Leadership has many different definitions in the fire service. Leadership is a collection of inherent and learned disciplines over a lifetime that we employ to motivate individuals to perform at levels we expect them to function at. No one style or type of leadership fits all in the fire service. For this discussion, explain the different styles of leadership you observe or employ for different situations you encounter daily. Discuss the type of leadership you use on emergency calls, when doing routine tasks around the station, the leadership you use in setting expectations for your team, and the leadership used in discipline and having those tough discussions with your team. Give an example of each of these situations and the style of leadership you would employ. You should dedicate a paragraph to each of the situations and be certain to cite your resources (using one internal source and one external source) using APA 7 format.