Kent Fire Management

1. Introduction and context

Strategic management is an essential component of effective high performing organisations. In the private sector the fundamental goal of business strategy is to beat competitors, to achieve financial profit, Pearson (1999). However in the public sector the central strategic theme is focussed on providing year on year efficiency savings without any perceived loss of benefit to the Public, Government et al (1999). Kirkpatrick, Ackroyd & Walker (2005) realise that it has being the strategy of successive governments to achieve this by introducing private sector practices. However, Kirkpatrick, Ackroyd, and Walker (2005) recognise that this has not always yielded the expected improvements. Eliassen and Kooiman (1993)
Financial constraint and political constraints make it unlikely that the short falls will be picked up by the Local tax payers, Kent Fire and Rescue (2007a). (See appendix 1 Economic)

Social

Communities have been changing HMFSI (1999) observed the Fire Service lacked diversity and consequently it did not match the communities that it served, it set targets for increased diversity. However, Baine (2002) suggested that the situation had not improved significantly and that the lack of diversity was seriously affecting the services ability to interact face to face with these groups, some of who were from the most at risk sections of society.

Kent Fire and Rescue is still under represented and has failed to meet its own low targets for increasing diversity, currently the uniformed workforce consists of only:

• 1.05% from ethnic minority backgrounds, this is up 0.20% on last year
• 3.2% Female, this is up 0.18% on the previous year
• 1.77 With a disability, this is down 0.16% on previous year
(Kent Fire and Rescue 2007b
Collis and Montgomery (1995). For example the current high levels of public satisfaction and confidence can evaporate, if efficiency cuts produce a product that does not meet the consumer’s needs. The image of the service is currently good we are perceived to offer an effective service and we are well respected for the work that we do. Interestingly however, the public does not have any loyalty to the public services and they do not care who provides them as long as the service is good and they are not making large profits, Flynn (2002).

Baine (1999), HMFSI (2002) see the Fire and Rescue Services ability take on and respond to an ever increasing array of emergency incidents as strengths. However, the complexity and range of the incidents requires the service to make a long term commitment to training to ensure that it is capable to respond effectively to