Industry Analysis (Micro Environmental) of the Ventura County Fire Department

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS (MICRO ENVIRONMENTAL ) OF THE VENTURA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT

Introduction

Industrial life cycle is a good measure to denote the level at which an industry or organization is and the paths it has charted for organizational development . It is also an indicator of organizational behavior which has led to sustenance of its growth and efficiency or decline . Commencing from life sciences , the concept of life cycle is being increasingly applied to industrial and even public service organizations as the fire department . While a large number of models have been

visualized , as by Hill and Jones (1998 ) five phase model of embryonic , growth , shakeout , maturity and decline , all these generally have common phases which includes introduction , growth , maturity and decline . Applying the life cycle model to functioning of Ventura County Fire Department enables deriving useful lessons for sustenance of efficiencies in organizations providing emergency public services

Life Cycle - Ventura County Fire Department

The Ventura Fire Protection District and thus the County Fire Department came into existence in May 1928 and thereafter it has been at the fore front of fighting fires and disasters in the nominated area covering 1873 square miles including 860 square miles of forest reserves with an habitation of 473 , 704 citizens . Viewed from the perspective of organizational development cycle , it would be evident that the Ventura District Fire Department is in the maturity stage . This stage entails full fructification of its capabilities and ability to deliver services In general in this stage the growth of an industrial organization is stated to be slower and in terms of service organization where productivity is measured through efficiency in delivery , it envisages a plateau of efficiencies

As a public service provider , Ventura does not face any competition in the field which places extra ordinary pressure to retain its efficiency The field of fire fighting is a challenging one , where lack of efficiency would imply large scale death and destruction . Thus to maintain efficiency for Ventura is a challenge . A public service organization can also face the trauma of decline

The various factors which have contributed to continued efficiency of the Department prolonging its maturity cycle are apart from the absence of competition to initiate change is its constant effort to upgrade its man power skills , equipment and public warning systems . These innovative efforts have enabled it to stay at the maturity level constantly . The high levels of motivation of the staff maintained over a period are also a result of the success it has been achieving over the years in managing outbreak of fire in the district . Motivation of its staff has also resulted in their felt need to maintain their operational efficiency through training , mock exercises and rehearsals

The mission adopted by the Ventura County Fire Department information service department for instance indicates its high level of commitment to maintaining itself on the maturity curve . It is first and foremost is to accurately convey emergency and non emergency information to the communities and members of the fire services...