Page 12 - InCommand Volume 31

Manage Your Intellectual Capital
and Organizational Knowledge
Assistant Chief Matthew McBirney, MPA, OFE, OFC
Author Bio
Assistant Chief Matthew McBirney, MPA, OFE, OFC
Assistant Chief Matthew McBirney started his fire service career 25 years ago with the Edinburg Township Volunteer Fire Department. He started with the Aurora Fire Department
22 years ago, and has served as a Firefighter/Paramedic, Lieutenant, Captain, and Assistant Fire Chief. He earned an Associate of Applied Science in Fire Technology from Cuyahoga Community College, a Bachelor of Science in Fire and Safety Engineering Technology from the University of Cincinnati, and is currently enrolled as a post graduate student in the Master of Public Administration program at Anna Maria College. Assistant Chief McBirney is a graduate of the Ohio
Fire Executive Program class 9, and holds the Ohio Fire Officer credential. His State of Ohio certifications include Firefighter II, Paramedic, Fire Instructor, Live Fire Instructor, EMS CE Instructor, and Fire Safety Inspector. He has served as shift training officer, department training coordinator, and teaches in
the University of Akron fire training program. In 2002, he enlisted in the Navy Reserve where he was assigned
to Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment based in
Akron, and was deployed in support
of the Global War on Terrorism to Iraq
in 2005. Assistant Chief McBirney manages the fire prevention bureau and is second-in-command of the Fire Department, exercising the authority and duties of the Fire Chief in the absence of the Fire Chief. Matthew resides in Aurora with his wife Ruby and their sons Patrick and Christopher.
Capital can be defined as an organization’s wealth, assets, or resources available for use in accomplishing the organization’s mission. We are all familiar with common physical examples of organizational capital such as fire stations, apparatus, and operating budgets, but we rarely consider intellectual capital. Intellectual capital is our organization’s knowledge base, including not only what our
people acquire through education, but also their expertise, experience, hard earned insight and intuition, the trust they have earned in relationships inside and outside the organization, and the processes they have developed. In my relatively small fire department, the departure of three senior members in less than two years illuminated the need for
a plan to capture and retain intellectual capital and organizational knowledge before it walks out the door. The three individuals who retired were subject matter experts in a variety of critical areas, represented close to one hundred years of combined experience, and managed key programs. To avoid the need to take two steps back before going forward following retirements, we needed a plan for managing intellectual capital and organizational knowledge as part
of our strategic plan for organizational improvement.
There are three pillars of intellectual capital that we should
consider. These are human capital, relational capital, and structural capital.
Human capital, our people, are arguably an organization’s most
important asset. When recruiting and hiring, we look for people who meet or exceed the required knowledge, skills, and abilities, but most importantly
we want to hire people with the right attitude. Starting from this baseline, we can enhance and grow our human capital by increasing their knowledge. Explicit knowledge is a type of knowledge
that can be written and archived to be passed on to those who would read it
later. The knowledge acquired through vocational training such as a fire academy or paramedic school are examples. Undergraduate college study in programs that follow an approved Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education (FESHE) curriculum also have a great deal of explicit knowledge to impart. In today’s fire service, an associate degree for the company officer, a bachelor’s degree for a shift commander, and a master’s degree for administrators is the recommended professional development model. Encouraging our personnel to earn a college degree is one means of increasing the value of our human capital and growing the volume of knowledge in our organizations.
There is another type of knowledge known as tacit knowledge, which is implicit rather than explicit. Tacit knowledge is practical intelligence
or knowledge and intuition that one acquires over time through many and varied experiences. It represents things experienced personnel “just know” though they may not immediately be able to explain why. Growing our human capital includes providing opportunities for our people to acquire both explicit and implicit knowledge.
Relational capital lies in the relationships established and maintained between our personnel and politicians, business owners, community groups leaders, vendors, and other stakeholders. In the fire prevention bureau this includes relationships with local building owners, custodians, and the local fire suppression system and fire alarm technicians. For the EMS Coordinator this would include relationships built with local hospitals, physicians, and equipment suppliers. If your department has an “in house” technology and
radio expert, he has relationships with suppliers and memberships in groups, associations, and boards necessary to keep the organization’s software and radios operating with the latest updates in technology. These relationships are built
12 InCommand JULY/AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020 • www.ohiofirechiefs.org