This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: • This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. • A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. • This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. • The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. • When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. An Exploration of Culture and Change in the Scottish Fire Service: The Effect of Masculine Identifications Brian M. Allaway PhD by Research The University of Edinburgh 2010 1 Abstract This study examines the organisational culture of the Scottish Fire Service, and the political pressures for change emanating from the modernisation agenda of both the United Kingdom and Scottish Governments. Having completed a preliminary analysis of the Fire Service‟s culture, by examining the cultural history of the Scottish Fire Service and the process through which individuals are socialised into the Service, the study analyses the contemporary culture of the Service through research in three Scottish Fire Brigades. This research concludes that there is a clearly defined Fire Service culture, which is predicated on the operational task of fighting fire, based on strong teams and infused with masculinity at all levels. In these circumstances, the Service‟s cultural realities attempt to exclude women and are derisive in their regard for other more marginalised males. Following an analysis of Government driven imperatives for change, being applied to the Fire Service, it is further concluded that the resistance to change, evident within the cultural realities of the Service, can be defined as an attempt to defend one of the last bastions of male identification in the workplace. 2 Contents Section I: The Introduction Chapter 1 Introduction: A Starting Point Page 4 Chapter 2 The Pressures for Change Page 16 Chapter 3 Organisational Culture: A Review of the Literature Page 31 Chapter 4 The Cultural Effects of Adopting a Masculine Identity Page 64 Chapter 5 Methodology Page 88 Section II: The Findings Chapter 6 Scottish Fire Service Culture: Historical Beginnings Page 112 Chapter 7 The Scottish Fire Service Training School: Socialisation Through Induction to the Service Page 140 Chapter 8 The Realities of Life in the Scottish Fire Service: A Cultural Study in Three Brigades Page 153 Section III: The Conclusions Chapter 9 Culture and Change in the Scottish Fire Service: The Effect of Masculine Identities: Some Findings Page 193 Chapter 10 Conclusions Page 215 Postscript Page 224 Appendices Page 226 Bibliography Page 249 3 Chapter One Introduction: A Starting Point 1.1 Introduction 1.1(a) The Scottish Fire Service is going through an unprecedented period of pressures for change, which have been initiated by current and ongoing changes in the Service‟s political, social and economic context. At the same time, there continues to be a public expectation that Fire Brigades will carry on delivering an effective emergency service in what can be difficult and dangerous circumstances. The Service, as it exists currently, may be perceived as being traditional, uniformed, white, male and hierarchical in nature. Moreover, and anecdotally, there seems to be a perception at Government level that the existing culture of the Service is resisting these pressures to change. 1.1(b) A superficial analysis may indicate that the current dominant Fire Service culture is regarded by its subjects as unique, as it was originally structured by male/masculine values, which were in turn predicated on the physical task of fighting fire. These values have been accentuated over time by the social role of the Service in carrying out hazardous work and they appear to be reinforced by the professional self-perception and cultural identity of „fireman as hero‟. From this perception, firefighters may see themselves as socially and politically neutral representatives of a noble tradition who deliver a crucial emergency service and who are resisting institutional pressures, which have the potential to undermine their existing culture and deeply-held group identity. Therefore, pressures for gender and racial equality of entry into the Service and the imposition of cost efficiencies may be perceived by firefighters as external and ideological, arising from the agendas of politicians whose objectives cannot automatically be accepted as synonymous with professional firefighters. Under these circumstances, it may be assumed that resistance arises from a view that the Service, rather than being developed, would in effect be undermined by the changes being proposed. However, such a view relies on prima facie evidence, 4 perhaps interpreted by reference to a political discourse that prioritises the engineering of social equality. Assuming institutional racism or sexism on the part of the Fire Service is not a substitute for a research-based identification of the causes and meanings of institutional resistance. 1.1(c) In a changing society, pressures for institutional change have been exerted on a range of professions – the Armed Forces, the Police Service and the Prison Service – each of which represents both a total culture that has been developed historically, and a collection of organisations through which each service is delivered. The majority of research into cultural change has concentrated on empirical examination of particular organisations, largely commercial entities, which deliver either goods or services into a marketplace, the technical and geographical evolution of which have altered the structures and working practices in order to facilitate efficiency and effectiveness. However, there is no market for an institution such as the Fire Service, which in many ways operates in a monopolistic manner. Publicly funded, the forces of competition and the imperative of survival in product markets do not apply. In these circumstances, the natural inertia of organisations is reinforced, and the only pressures for change result from technological developments, internal managerial requirements or external social and political changes. 1.1(d) The study of organisations should lead to increased understanding, and the purpose of this particular study is to understand the dynamic between the pressures for change from the Fire Service environment, and the resistance to change from within the Fire Service itself. 1.1(e) Even though recent interest in the study of organisational cultures has concentrated on culture as a means of effecting organisational change and increased competitiveness, most studies have taken place in the private sector. This sector has very different dynamics and imperatives to the public sector. Within the current study, it is my intention to argue that on the face of it, the existing Fire Service culture of itself creates resistance to change, and it is, in its existing context, an internalised pressure towards the status quo. In these circumstances, it should prove 5 productive to develop research that looks at the dynamic between external pressure and internal resistance, in an attempt to understand the effect that the forces for change will have on the Fire Service as it exists today. In theoretical terms, this can be analysed in a way first considered by Lewin (1951) in his classic notion of force field theory. This theory suggests that organisations are at any time subject to contradictory forces for and against change, and human interaction shapes or changes organisational development, in a dynamic process of response to these dual pressures. Lewin‟s theory indicates that all organisational change is the result of changing the equilibrium between two sets of opposing forces: driving forces and restraining forces. Any change that is observed in organisations may therefore be understood as changing the balance between these two groups of forces, resulting in what Lewin himself called a quasi-stationary equilibrium. 1.1(f) Over many years the Fire Service has developed an organisational history, tradition and set of practices and behaviours that have contributed to norms, values, symbols and rites which are deeply embedded in the Service and passed on from generation to generation of firefighters. These factors can be internalised as the current Fire Service culture. This culture and the task of fighting fire have over time, it would seem, attracted men who internalise a specifically masculine identification with „the job‟. These interactions between task, individuals, groups, culture and identity, have potentially resulted in a specifically male view of the Service and those who can be perceived as embodying the ability to continue its heroic traditions. 1.1(g) The driving forces towards change can be perceived as emanating from the Scottish Fire Service‟s organisational context, in the shape of political, governmental, legal and social pressures. These forces are pushing one way in an attempt to bring about change, whereas the restraining forces, in the shape of the existing dominant Fire Service culture, seem