Tactics, command, leadership

tus systems where one or more individuals in various ways raise
themselves above others in the group. There is a hierarchy within
the group. Such hierarchical systems can vary in strength and
have varying degrees of significance in different groups. Within
a municipal structure for providing rescue services there is also a
formal hierarchy in the form of various management levels, i.e.
established subordination relationships between those in mana-
gement positions, or between employers and employees.
According to Heap (1980), groups can be divided into primary
and secondary groups. A primary group is a group that has so
few members that one has direct personal contact with all gro-
up members, face to face. The personal relationships within the
group are such that one is able to develop long­term and recipro-
cal relationships. The family is described as the most common
example of a primary group in that there is reciprocal identifica-
tion and influence. Other examples can be fixed groups that stay
together from the childhood and teenage years. Examples of se-
condary groups are political associations, sports associations and
workgroups. The secondary groups lack the intimacies and deep
personal affiliations of the primary groups. Within rescue servi-
ces, work is conducted in such a manner that it can be difficult
to differentiate between primary groups and secondary groups.
Through the nature of the job and the special conditions that can
exist in conjunction with helping injured persons, and in situa-
tions where there are potentially major risks, the group attains
more familiar bonds than what is normal for other types of pro-
fessions. This can be influenced both by the group’s work and the
leadership relationships in the group.
Heap (1980) maintains that there are three main types of group
formations that can be related to the degree of volunteerism on
the part of the members. In some groups, individuals are coerced
into membership; someone outside the group decides that they
will belong to a specific group. It can be, for example, a work team
within a municipal structure for providing rescue services. Co-
erced membership does not exclude there being common objec-
tives for the group. The various work teams within a municipal
structure for providing rescue services should reasonably have a
common objective for their work. A person who needs help as
the result of an accident should not notice any difference in the
performance of rescue services, regardless of if the accident oc-
curs on a Tuesday evening or a Sunday morning. The other type