Traditional Wisdom... LO9830

Dr. Ivan Blanco (BLANCO@BU4090.BARRY.EDU)
Sun, 8 Sep 1996 13:02:22 -0400 (EDT)

Replying to LO9243 --

> Date: 19 Aug 96 15:16:23 EDT
> From: Dale Emery <72704.1550@CompuServe.COM>
>
<<<< some deletions here >>>>
>
> >> When I first started in the Fire Department, a few moons back, that
> underlying philosophy was that the only things needed to succeed were "guts" and
> water. In fact, when the self-contained breathing apparatus started to appear,
> many old guard guys critized them as a sign whimpiness... <<
>
> I can understand how that can happen in a culture that higly values guts. The
> people who had acted the most gutsy in the past might have felt threatened at
> first. With the introduction of SBAs, now other people (even wimps!) can do
> some things only the gutsy folks could do before. It looked as though guts, a
> characteristic by which they identified and distinguished and esteemed
> themselves, was going to lose some of its importance.
>
> After the dust settled, how did this turn out? How did the gutsy firefighters
> ultimately respond?
>
> Dale
>

Dale, I am sorry it has taken me so long to respond. What is very
interesting with some organizations, and the Fire Department is not an
exception, is employee turnover. Retirement, leaving for better jobs,
etc. have a great effect in learning, I think. As the strongest opponents
of the new methods started to leave and others changes atarted to take
effect (rewarding education, in conbination with guts - being gutsy and
smart :-) ), then the new equipment and methods were accepted with a lot
less resistance. There were other changes in bad habits (which, like a
lot of other people, I considered "cool" stuff), and the Department
functions today in super moderm ways! I have the priviledged position of
visiting them sporadically, so I can see those changes....

-- Ivan,

--

*************************************************************** R. IVAN BLANCO, Ph.D. Voice 305 899-3515 Assoc. Prof. & Director Fax 305 892-6412 International Business Programs Andreas School of Business _________E-Mail Addresses________ Barry University Bitnet: Blanco%bu4090@Barryu Miami Shores, FL 33161-6695 Internet: Blanco@bu4090.barry.edu <<<<< ---------------- >>>>> "Si un hombre fuera necesario para sostener el Estado, este Estado no deberia existir." "If one man were necessary to sustain a Nation, this Nation should not exist." Simon Bolivar ===============================================================

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