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Management Problems in
The Fire Service Industry

FSM 450-3

FACULTY:

Fred L. Wilson, Ph.D.
4022 Townview Lane
San Angelo, TX 76901
(325) 223-0085
e-mail: fwilson@airmail.net

FACULTY CONTACT:

The easiest and most efficient means of contacting your faculty for this course, Fred Wilson, is through e-mail. However, you may telephone, Monday through Friday, between 8:00 AM and 10 PM Central. In most instances, e-mail and telephone messages will be answered within 24 hours. However, some situations may require more time for a response.

If at all possible, completed assignments should be sent to fwilson@airmail.net as an e-mail attachment. Prior to attaching your assignment to e-mail, save it as a MS Word document(.doc). If you are not using MS Word, contact the instructor immediately.

All assignments must be received by Fred Wilson (actually in his hands) no later than the prescribed due date. Assignments received after the prescribed due date will be reduced in grade as per instructions in this syllabus.

Assignment due dates are Fridays. Assignments will be graded as soon as possible. You will receive feedback on the assignments by e mail. Your marked papers will be delivered to the SIUC office at Goodfellow to be given to you in hard copy.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The identification and study of problems related to management within the fire service industry. Teaches the application of Fire Service Management theories, concepts, and practices to the identified management problems. Requires the use of written and electronic media research resources to produce a written problem solving report.

PREREQUISITE:

FSM 350 or FSM 401 and Fire Service Management Major or consent of department.

PREREQUISITE TO:

None

TEXTBOOKS:

American Psychological Association. (1994). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. Aaron, J. E. , (2001). The Little, Brown compact handbook (3rd ed. or later) . New York: Addison-Wesley.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Objective

Percent of Topical Coverage
The student will use both written and electronic media resources to identify and define a current problem related to management within the Fire Service industry. 10%
The student will identify and document Fire Service Management theories, concepts, and practices that relate to the identified problem. The student will use both written and electronic media resources to select research relative to the identified problem and recommendations for a resolution to the problem. 20%
The student will write a 15 to 20 page comprehensive formal research article that identifies the selected topic; identifies the related Fire Service Management theories, concepts, and practices; identifies written and electronic media research resources relative to the topic; and which uses the identified Fire Service Management theories, concepts, practices, and research to develop and apply a possible solution(s) to the problem. 10%
The student will research, document, and describe in writing the key components of basic management theories, concepts, and/or practices pertinent to Fire Service Management. 60%
The student will apply the criteria of the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association to the written research report. 10%

STUDENT ASSIGNMENTS

AssignmentPossible
Points		 Due Date
Assignment #1: Identify and define a management problem that affects the Fire Service industry. 100 3rd Week
Assignment #2: Submit a narrative outline of your proposed research report. 100 7th Week
Assignment #3: Complete a 15 to 20 page comprehensive research report. 30013th Week

After completing this Independent Study course, please go to the SIU Website Student Evaluations to complete an evaluation for this course. This site is maintained at SIUC and not by your instructor.

GRADING:

General guidelines for grading follow below. Some things you should be extremely careful about:
  1. When an abstract is required, follow the APA guidelines to the letter;
  2. Check and recheck your spelling;
  3. The References list must begin on a new page and no source should be listed that is not cited in the body of the paper;
  4. Page numbers must be included with citations in the body of the paper;
  5. Proofread your paper to avoid careless grammatical errors.

1. Grading Criteria for Assignments:

Grammar & SyntaxTechnical (Management)APA RulesWriting (7 "Cs")Overall On Time
1010101010+2 (due date)
999990 (1 day late)
88888-2 (2-3 days late)
77777-4 (4-5 days late)
66666-8 (5-8 days late)
55555-16 (9-14 days late)
Grade is the sum of the highlighted numbers, minus penalties. Percentage is double the grade points. Example: Total points = 47. Grade = 94

*Penalties for plagiarism can be quite severe and range from an "F" for the course to suspension from the University.

3. Extra Credit

Five points will be awarded extra credit for sending me your e-mail address by email to fwilson@airmail.net. On occasion other optional extra credit assignments may be sent to those who provide me with their e-mail addresses.

4. Grading scale:

Total PointsGrade
92-100A
89-91Grey
82-88B
79-81Grey
72-78C
69-71Grey
60-68D
Below 60F
Grey area grade will be assigned after review of all work submitted. It may be lower or higher, according to the instructor's overall evaluation

5. ADA Statement for Students Requiring Special Accommodations:

As per Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the American Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, if accommodations are needed, inform your instructor as soon as possible.

6. Assigment of grade of INCOMPLETE:

A grade of INCOMPLETE may be assigned when, for reasons beyond their control, students engaged in passing work are unable to complete all class assignments. Students re required to apply, in writing, to the faculty member for an Incomplete not less than two weeks prior to the last class day of the course. Students are also required to contact the instructor by phone, email, or FAX to inform the instructor that they (the students)cannot finish all assignments and will be requesting an INCOMPLETE. This contact will NOT replace the written request. Students who fail to inform the instructor and fail to request the incomplete in writing will recive the grade earned for the course or a WF, whichever is most appropriate. Requesting an incomplete is not a guarantee that it will be granted, since assignment of any grade is at the discretion of the instructor. Students must provide cogent reasons why they cannot complete the assignments and why it is beyond their control.

The above paragraph is persuant to direction of Judith A. Rawls, Director OCAP (February 18, 2004).

Due Dates:

Assignments may be sent as an e-mail attachment; the student may personally send the assignment via regular postal mail or any other surface carrier; or, assignments may be presented to the local SIUC office for mailing via regular, first-class mail service. Assignments that are FAXed will not be accepted. Students relying on surface mail delivery of assignments must place the assignment in the mail a minimum of seven calendar days prior to the prescribed due date. The local SIUC office is not authorized to mail assignments by other than regular U. S. Post Office first-class service which requires a minimum of seven days for delivery.

The date on which the assignment is received (in the hands of) by the faculty member will determine the date the assignment was submitted for grade. I date each file received. I much prefer you submit as an e-mail attachment. I then date the paper on the time it was sent. If you mail your assignment (and I ernestly hope you do not) you must allow a minimum of seven days mailing time for assignments to reach me by the prescribed due date.

Any student's Assignment #4 that is not in the faculty member's hands by the prescribed due date will be assigned a grade of zero.

Due Date Extensions:

Students who experience unique, unusual, emergency and/or totally unexpected situations that prevent them from working on Assignment #1 and Assignments #2 may request an extension of a due date. Such requests will be granted only if the request is made in writing (e-mail messages are acceptable, FAX is not), is received prior to the due date, and the reason for the request is beyond the control of the student. Approval of such requests is not automatic and is subject to the faculty's best judgment. The maximum extension permitted is 14 calendar days beyond the prescribed due date. Assignments received more than 14 days past the prescribed due date will be assigned a grade of zero. There is no allowance for extending the due date for Assignment #3.

After completing this Independent Study course, please go to the SIU Website Student Evaluations to complete an evaluation for this course. This site is maintained at SIUC and not by your instructor.

Number of Visitors since May 8, 2000

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Contact me at: fwilson@airmail.net. Last Revised Jan 1, 2009