Dealing with people
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Dealing with People
Assignment # 2
In today's society it is very important for the fire officer to be able to motivate his/her firefighters while dealing with life threatening situations as well as every day duties. In this assignment I will explain the motivation of firefighter Norm Crosby, Lieutenant Bill Hanson, and firefighter Kelly Sleamon using Vroom's expectancy theory, Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Adams' and Homans' Equity theory. First I will use Vroom's Expectancy Theory. This theory argues that motivation of any worker is a function of the perceived probability that a particular task will lead to success and the value which the worker places on the reward. In mathematical form M= P1 x P2 x R where
M = motivation
P1 = the perceived probability that a unit of effort will lead to a successful outcome
P2 = is the perceived probability that a successful outcome will lead to rewards for the individual, and
R = the value of the rewards for the individual.
The lesson to learn from this theory is that all three factors must be present to motivate firefighters. From what we have learned in "late One Night" and "Late Fall" I will explain the three characters. In Norm Crosby's case although he is motivated to do a good job as a firefighter he is not motivated to write the lieutenant's exam again. His failure to pass the Lieutenant's as a result of what he saw a s an insignificant general question on the promotional exam in 1976 has resulted in feelings of bitterness, which he has to this day. This bitterness does not much effect on his firefighting abilities or relationship with his coworkers...