BES 355-1 - Emergency Services Management

1 Credits

Outline Effective Date: Academic Year 2025/2026
Revised Date: Apr 1, 2025
Date Approved: Apr 1, 2025

Lecture Hours: 15

Course Description:
This course focuses on developing key leadership and management skills for administrators in emergency services organizations. Students will explore management philosophies, change management strategies, and employee motivation techniques tailored to the dynamic and high-stress environment of emergency services. The course emphasizes practical application, preparing students to handle the operational, financial, and human resource challenges of running an emergency services department effectively.

Rationale:
This is a required core course for the Bachelor of Applied Business: Emergency Services program.

Good management is essential for the effective functioning of an organization. A solid grounding in basic management functions ensures a better approach to the rapidly changing environment that demands constant adaptation. Managers well trained in the basics of management are better able to anticipate the pressures and challenges, handle the diverse workforce, and meet the steady demand for high quality services that characterize today’s emergency services organizations.

Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None

Course Learning Outcomes:
A student who successfully completes the course will have reliably demonstrated the ability to:

1. Apply leadership principles to emergency services environments.

2. Develop strategies for managing organizational change.

3. Evaluate foundational and contemporary motivational theories.

4. Complete a SWOT analysis for a change strategy in the workplace.

Required Resource Materials:
Robbins, S. P., Coulter, M., Leach, E., & Kilfoil, M. (2022). Management (13th Can. ed.).

Pearson.

Optional Resource Materials:
None

Conduct of Course:
This course is approximately 15 hours in length. It is delivered online and may involve individual, pair, and group work. Students are required to submit assignments, take part in asynchronous discussions, and undertake exercises in the workplace that call for reflective thinking. Participation in this course is paced and mandatory, and students are expected to practice time management skills accordingly. It is critical that each student read the assigned material and keep up to date with all objective tasks and assignments.

Student counseling: Students who are experiencing difficulty with the course should immediately consult the instructor by email.

Course withdrawal: Students should familiarize themselves with the school’s course withdrawal policy and procedures, which are explained in the student handbook/calendar.

Students should budget approximately one to two hours of time in preparation for each one hour of the estimated 15 hours of class time.

All goals and evaluations of student application and demonstration of their knowledge and skills are determined as per the Online Discussion Grading Rubric and the Paper Grading Rubric linked within the course.

Regular participation in threaded discussions is essential for success in the program. Absence for any reason does not relieve a student of the responsibility of completing course work and assignments to the satisfaction of the instructor. Poor participation may result in the termination of a student from a course(s).

If you do not meet the established participation requirements, your instructor will recommend that the Registrar withdraw you from the course. A failing grade of RW (Required to Withdraw) will appear on your transcript. No credit is earned. Calculated as a failing grade in GPA.

In cases of repeated absences due to illness, the student may be requested to submit a medical certificate.

Content of Course:

Principles of Great Leadership and Management
- Explore the core principles that define great leaders and managers, including emotional intelligence, ethical decision-making, and integrity.
Change Management in Emergency Services
- Develop strategies for managing organizational change effectively within emergency service organizations, including navigating resistance and fostering buy-in.
Employee Motivation and Engagement
- Examine techniques for motivating and engaging a workforce, particularly in high-stress environments typical of emergency services.
Management Processes and Operational Decision-Making
- Describe structured management processes such as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, and their application to emergency services.

Course Assessments:
This course uses a variety of assessment tools to evaluate student performance. The final grade is an aggregate of the following components:

Online Discussion Forums (3 x 20%)	60%
Organizational Change Strategy and Analysis	40%
Total	100%

All marks are recorded as percentages and then converted to a final letter grade according to the criteria shown below.

Course Pass Requirements:
A minimum grade of D (50%) (1.00) is required to pass this course.

Students must maintain a cumulative grade of C (GPA - Grade Point Average of 2.00) in order to qualify to graduate.

Letter	F	D	D+	C-	C	C+	B-	B	B+	A-	A	A+
Percent Range	0-49	50-52	53-56	57-59	60-64	65-69	70-74	75-79	80-84	85-89	90-94	95-100
Points	0.00	1.00	1.30	1.70	2.00	2.30	2.70	3.00	3.30	3.70	4.00	4.00

Official final grades will be available on My Lakeland. Grades posted in D2L should be considered interim grades.

Lakeland College is committed to the highest academic standards. Students are expected to be familiar with Lakeland College policies and to abide by these policies. Violations of these policies are considered to be serious and may result in suspension or expulsion from the College.

Every effort has been made to ensure that information in this course outline is accurate at the time of publication. Lakeland College reserves the right to change courses if it becomes necessary so that course content remains relevant.

In such cases, the instructor will give students clear and timely notice of changes.

No part of this course outline may be reproduced in any form or resold without written permission from Lakeland College.

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