The Significance of Following Orders in Daily Life and the Fire Service

Foundations of obeying orders

The importance of following orders is instrumental to the health and well-being of an individual and in the fire service. It is a very important skill to live a quality life and an equally important skill to be part of and form a smoothly functioning society. It increases efficiency within a group or society. People who do not follow instructions are a great danger to themselves as well as to others around them. This also saves resources from being used in a manner that is not as effective or not beneficial.

They pose a danger that is not only moral or social but also physical as well. Moreover, if people in a society do not follow orders, the opportunities for achieving advancement can become severely limited. This also instills discipline and responsibility that helps us be more reliable people for others in times of need.

Streamlining processes through clear instructions

When people fail to follow orders properly, it can lead to a great deal of chaos and give rise to immense frustration in any given situation and environment. To be able to follow instructions exactly, a person must possess the ability to listen and read carefully. Besides, it is also important that the person asking the relevant questions clears any doubt that may arise in understanding the instructions. One way to do this is by simply repeating the task back that was just asked of you. If a person is unable to follow instructions given to them properly, they will find that completing a task becomes much more difficult than it actually is, making it very inefficient. And this is true in the case of different situations that are presented.

Importance of commands in the fire service

This goes perfectly in the fire service because we are faced with countless situations where clear communications are needed. We need to know what is asked of us and know what and where it is needed. This makes it very efficient for our job and the people we serve. Whether a person is working on a project independently or as part of a team, it would become equally difficult to complete the given task if the person does not listen to orders and follow them.

For instance, if you are part of a team in an organization and the team is given a specific task to be completed within a certain period of time, it is of the utmost importance that everyone follows the orders given to them for the team to be able to complete the task efficiently. Each person in a team has an important role to play, and if someone does not do their job properly, the operation will not run smoothly. The inability of a single person to follow given orders will slow down the entire team as someone else will have to take on the added responsibility that is given to the first person. Some tasks will probably have to be done all over again. This will slow down the entire process considerably and might even lead to a faulty outcome if errors made by the inefficient member are not detected.

Therefore, it can be seen that the inability to follow orders leads to a considerable waste of resources, time, and money and can be quite severely detrimental to the well-being of an organization. This is why it is important to pay attention because if someone runs the hose in the wrong area of a house or the wrong way, then that’s wasted time and viable time for victims who may be trapped or need help. That is not only wasting time and resources but also the victims’ time frame of survival.

Personal safety and adherence to orders

Continuing, how can the inability to follow orders be detrimental to physical health? The answer is pretty simple and can be shown through everyday life. We know that on the roads, we have traffic signals and signs. These are basically orders given to us by the government about behaving in a certain way on the roads. Now, if some of us choose to violate road safety signs and traffic signals and try to cross the streets when the green light is on, there is a very great chance that we will be killed by the oncoming traffic. Similarly, if we ignore the street safety rules and drive at maximum speed on a busy road, we will end up in a potentially fatal car accident, and if we are lucky to be alive after it, we will have to live with the consequences that we caused to others.

In the fire service, we have to abide by rules, regulations, and SOP’s. There are reasons why those are in place and why they will always be there. If you do not check your equipment after each use and maintain it and another shift, go to use it on another call, and it does not work or is broken, then that will have a negative impact on the department’s image, firefighter, and the victim. Those consequences could be detrimental for all of those involved. Following orders keeps everyone safe and reduces the amount of potential negative impacts.

Cultural indoctrination: Obeying from childhood

We are taught to follow orders from a very young age, and that comes in handy in every aspect of life. As a student, we are required to follow the orders we are given at school, and at home, we are required to follow the orders we are given by our parents. This instills discipline and a sense of responsibility to us. Orders are given to us in order to ensure that we do the right things, and by following these instructions, we grow up to be well-rounded individuals. If we had not been given the order of being attentive in class and following it, we would never have made it very far in life as far as education is concerned. The ability to follow orders is important in many ways: it can make life much simpler and safer, ensures that tasks are completed efficiently and on time, and does away with confusion. Simply put, when you follow orders, things go smoothly around you. And it is not only you who benefits from this; by being in the habit of following orders, you can also instruct others to do the same and give orders that make sense.

References

1. Smith, J. (2015). Obedience and Society: The Power of Following Instructions. New York: Academic Press.
2. Brown, L. (2017). Communication in Modern Workplaces. London: Communications Press.

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