Organizational Theory and Practice
Organizational Structure
Mission statement: communicates the organization's reasons for being, and how it aims to serve its key stakeholders. Customers, employees, and investors are the stakeholder's most often emphasized, but other stakeholders like government (i.e., in the form of social or environmental impact) can also be discussed
Nine elements: customers/clients, products/services, markets, technology, concern for survival/growth, philosophy, self-concept, concern for public image, concern for employees
Vision statement: a future-oriented declaration of the organization's purpose and aspirations. It inspires and gives direction to employees. Needs to be clear, concise, and understood by others.
Types of organizations
Corporation: operates as a separate, legal body led by board of directors, multiple shareholders which creates a greater access to capital and reduces personal liability
Partnership: business organization between two or many people- inidividuals share management of business as well as profits/losses so owners still have unlimited liability
Sole propietorship: when the ownership and management of a business are in the control of one individual. The owner is the manager and only source of capital, the propietor and business are the same in the eyes of the law
Limited Liability Company: ownership wherein owner(s) manage and operate company with liability limited to personal amount invested
Stakeholders: an inidivudal or organization who are invested in another organization in their mission/product/service/etc. and who are affected by it. Feedback from stakeholders can be used to inform decisions, evaluate programs, make decisions, and more
Ethics
Venture philanthropy: strategic framing which corrdinates targeted resources like grants and investments and engages civil society, markets and governments to create systemic change
Leadership and Management
Training recommendations: Use engaging material, create training incentives, use clear objectives and goal-setting tactics, use clear and concise language, bring in experts from areas you may lack knowledge of
Change management: Types of change: structural, technological, and cultural. Change management is the process of designing and implementing change. Most leaders are responsible for some degree of change management. Use of Kurt Lewin's Change Model: 1. Unfreeze (examine status quo, increase, driving forces for change, decrease resisting forces against) 2. Move (take action, make changes, involve people) 3. Refreeze (Make change permanent, establish new way of things, reward desired outcomes)
Self-management: According to Kanfer's model of self-regulation: Stage 1- self-monitoring, stage 2- self-evaluation, stage 3- self-reinforcement. According to the social learning theory model, situational cues like personal goal setting and knowing oneself interacts with the person, resulting in behaviors like performance of tasks and consequences like self-reinforcement/punishment
Creating high staff morale: use of goal-oriented, individualized plans to maximize strengths and encourage personal and professional development. Emphasis on positive organizational culture, communication, collaboration and team-building, healthy work-life balance and boundaries, understanding of job expectations and roles, employee appreciation.
Internal motivation- differs from extrinsic motivators such as external consequences/rewards, this type of motivation comes from internal reward
Communication as a leader: use of strengths-based leadership model that emphasizes communication and using diverse people with different strengths to make a well-rounded team. Recognition of leadership as a constant learning process that involves different management techniques and create individualized success plans. Advocate on behalf of employees lower in hierarchy
Conflict management strategies: 1. Avoidance (problem is solved by denying it exists, can be used if conflict is small and now worth time to respond, use if need more time to gather info) 2. Accommodation/smoothing over (differences in the group are suppressed, can be used if conflict is small and need to preserve relationships) 3. Competition/exercise power (use of power to make a point, can be used if this method has been agreed upon beforehand) 4. Compromise/negotiation (Individuals seek middle ground, each party must give up something, can be used if both parties are willing to reduce some demands) 5. Collaboration (emphasis on a group solution, can be used if time is available for all parties to share their views and members are willing to change their thinking)
Organizational Practices
Organizational strength: Different aspects of the organization that sets them apart from the competition and other factors such as strong organizational culture, capital, customer/client base, innovation, etc. Can be assessed using a SWOT analysis
Task force: a designated group of people, often from different units within the company, are assigned to work on a task/project/goal. Often results from a specific problem/goal, and the task force is to make recommendations to the organization/board with a focus on outcomes. Task forces are usually temporary and disband once the goal has been accomplished
Competence: social workers are ethically obligated to strive for competence in their area of practice. This includes seeking out further education and knowledge, as well as supervision and mentorship.
Contingency planning: anticipating risks and threats to the organization and coming up with tactics, and a "Plan B" to mitigate threats.
Economical development theories: Linear stages of economic growth: 1. the traditional society 2. the preconditions for takeoff 3. the take-off 4. the drive to maturity 5. the age of high mass consumption. Structural change: the concept of labor being reallocated from the agricultural sector to the industrial sector to create a source for economic growth. International dependence model: unequal exchange and exploitation between developed and developing countries. New growth model: emphasizes that economic growth results from increasing returns to the use of knowledge rather than labor and capital.
Goal setting: Can be used at both the organizational and individual levels. Use of set objectives with measurable outcomes, can be helpful to use SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-Bound)
Stakeholders and strategic planning- response to tasks and opportunities in the task environment. Use of stakeholder (internal and external) to evaluate program/products and take into consideration stakeholder feedback. Strategic planning involves taking strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats into consideration to create goals for the organization and take sustainability and capacity building goals into SMART goal format, with measurable outcomes
Organizational ethics: Ethics (the concern for rights, responsibilities, language use, and process of making moral decisions. Morals due vary based on backgrounds such as culture, religion, and human emotions) vital to the organizational culture and adherence to social work's ethical standards. Special attention should be given to cultural sensitivity and diversity. Protective measures for workers and strict standards to enforce ethical standards
Ethical consideration: must be given in organizational practice in areas of research, diversity and inclusion practices, workplace culture and boundaries, organizational challenges and so on. Use NASW Code of Ethics and other relevant professional standards.
Negotiation styles: Distributive bargaining (fixed amount of resources to be divided, I win, you lose, opposed to each other, short term) v. Integrative bargaining (variable amount of resources to be divided, mutual benefit, convergent with each other, long term)
Stages of team development: 1. Forming (introductions, goal-setting, boundaries, relationship building, assess knowledge, establish norms) 2. Storming (identify unproductive behaviors, embrace diversity, work out differenecs, concentrate on problem solving) 3. Norming (Further work on conflicts, share data and explore solutions, work collaboratively) 4. Performing (Functioning without oversight, become interdependent, delegate leadership function, monitor progress, build camaraderie) 5. Adjourning (Celebrate successes, capture best practices, seek opportunities to attain closure, say goodbye)
- Visible role model 2. ethical expectations are communicated 3. ethical training is provided 4. ethical behaviors are rewarded and unethical behavior penalized 4. ethical behaviors are rewarded and unethical behavior penalized 5. install protective means for employees to report unethical behavior