127 a list of the issues from the internal

127. A list of the issues from the internal environment should include: misinterpretation of
SOP’s, subtle insubordination, crew morale issues, and a broken line of communication. A
list of the issues from the external environment include: stakeholder interest conflicts, social
issues (drug issues, homelessness, etc.), economic issues, and technological issues. The first
difference I see between the two types of environmental issues here are the source of the is-
sues (for example, internal environment issues are mainly caused by differences in view-
points, and external issues are caused by the world progressing and needs changing)
128. The conflict in the department that has become a strategic issue is definitely continuity
between shifts in terms of how closely they follow SOP’s. In the past our captains have inter-
preted the language of the SOP’s differently and passed this interpretation down the ranks of
the shift. When shifts would train together, these differences would be apparent and would be
traced back to the captain. I think this illustrates the need for a stricter training division
leader, who presents the same SOP to every shift.
129. I believe these conflicts are viewed by our stakeholders as personnel issues within the de-
partment. It unfortunately has been accepted in the past as ‘shift differences’ in terms of the
interpretation by each shift captain. What needs to be realized is that these differences, no
matter how small, could lead to dangerous conditions when shift members operate together
but have different expectations of each other.
130. As mentioned earlier, the department members generally view these conflicts as the dif-
ferences in thinking between shift captains. Each captain brings with him knowledge, experi-

ence, and a way he believes things should be done, which becomes evident in how that shift
trains.
131. The department chose one of the shift captains to be the designated training officer to
help address this issue, which has helped. Uniformity in training between shifts has in-
creased, but some bias on the part of the captain and even lieutenants of that shift is still in-
evitable.
132. Some open-ended questions related to the words and phrases above include:
A. What must be done to achieve training uniformity from shift to shift?
SSSSS. How can members of the department play a role in this uniformity?
TTTTT. Why should members want training to be identical for each shift?
133. For each of the above questions, I would say the following:
UUUUU. What must be done to achieve training uniformity from shift to shift? The depart-
ment can and should do something about this, but it is difficult to overcome human bias. This
question relates to the department’s values because in order for the service to be excellent
and performed at a high level, all shifts should have the same expectation of what high level
performance is and then make that happen. The issue is very important to the department for
that reason: it affects the quality of the service given to the citizens.