Implementing Change in Organizations

1. Implementing Change in Organizations Consulting with Constituents versus Centralized Decision-making by Administrators

2. Two types of Decision-making in Organizations • Intermediate and Long-range Planning • Immediate Decisions that must by made quickly by the person/persons “in charge.”

3. Types of Intermediate and Long-term Decisions • Strategic plans • New programs or funding sources • Changes in organization mission and goals • Program evaluations • Plans to lobby government for funding or changes in policy • Staff recruitment (and in some cases hiring decisions) • Creating program procedures and personnel policies • Setting yearly budgets and monitoring how money is used. • Scheduling and planning fundraising events

4. For these types of decisions, administrators consult others, especially boards of directors (or “higher ups” in government agencies such as county CEOs, boards of supervisors, or directors of Federal/state agencies. The empowerment model requires that we involve others (community residents, key informants, and clients)

5. Organization Structures to Expand Decision-Making Opportunities • Work Teams that may include: - Only organization staff. - Representatives from a number of organizations working together. - Staff members and clients • Reducing organization hierarchy consisting of levels of supervisors and turning some decisions over to staff

6. Structures that permit client/community input in organization decision-making: • Seats on boards of directors • Advisory boards • Membership on task groups that plan programs or evaluate services • Encouragement of self-help advocacy on the part of clients; Self-help advocacy training • Formal grievance procedures • Involvement in quality control or policy review processes • Formation of advocacy groups outside the organization structure. Larger groups of clients have more power to affect change in organizations.

7. Benefits of inclusion of clients and community residents • It’s the right thing to do (see NASW Code of Ethics on self-determination) • Services are more effective because they meet client/community needs. • Inclusion in decision-making helps increase client self-esteem, feelings of psychological empowerment, and leadership skills. • People included in decision-making are more likely to volunteer to work for the organization and can be asked to speak for the organization to influence public officials. • People (clients, residents, staff) included in the decision-making “buy in to” or become committed to the success of the plan.

8. Problems with process • Recruiting clients that can make decisions. • Recruiting clients that won’t be intimidated by professionals. • Problems in collaborating with professionals who use technical language or who don’t want to lose control. • Finding funding to maintain decision-making structures. • Many people are not natural leaders or may not know about organization decision-making. They will need training. • Organizations that use decision-making structures to manipulate clients or to fool them into thinking that they have input.

9. One of the big problems in organizations is that not everyone has power. Sources of power include: • Authority to make decisions • Knowledge • Information and/or Research Data • Professional status • Votes • Holding political office • Public recognition/celebrity • Ability to put point of view across in the media • Demonstrations, Boycotts, Strikes, and Protests • Strength in Numbers

10. What types of power do clients have? What types of power do they potentially have?

11. Arnstein (1969) identified 8 steps in her “Ladder of Citizen Participation” • (Highest Level) Citizen Control • Delegated Power • Partnership • Placation • Consultation • Informing • Therapy • Manipulation (lowest level)

12. Short term decisions • Rewarding or Disciplining Staff • Overseeing Program Implementation and Monitoring Day to Day Operations • Presenting information to Board Members, Superiors, or Public Decision-makers • Identifying Funding Sources and (and preparing proposals or negotiating contracts) • Identifying community partners and engaging in some types of collaboration to offer programs. • Responding to requests for information from program funders, board members, superiors, or the public. • Preparing reports for the board, superiors, funders, or the public.

13. In informal organizations, decision-making is often shared. However, in organizations with hierarchies, decision-making is centralized (meaning that the top person is responsible for important decisions). Shared decision-making may be difficult because of government regulations and funder demands. Nonprofit status under the tax code requires that the organization have a designated President and board of directors. The President is the responsible person for making spending decisions and hiring staff. Much of IRS reporting requirements are assigned to executive directors. In addition, funders usually require that one person in the organization be designated to communicate with and report to them.

14. How do administrators make decisions? • Rationally, obtaining all the facts and then making the best decision. In some situations, the administrator/planner may simply recommend the “best” plan to others. • Politically (using power and influence to gain support for the administrator’s plan) and/or making a recommendation he or she knows that will be supported by others. • Working with the various groups inside or outside the organizations to gain a consensus about the best plan or negotiating with participants so that most of them achieve a minimal level of satisfaction with the plan. This process is called “satisficing.”

15. Administrators and others may not always make the “best” or rational decisions. Other reasons for decisions: • What funders want. • Best interest of the organization or its staff. • Demands of the suprasystem (government, available funding, immediate needs of clientele) • Funding limitations • Self-interest of participants. People may want things that personally benefit them rather than others. Sometimes what they want is explicit, sometimes they have “hidden” agendas.

16. Rational or “best decisions are made by: • Reviewing all available information. • Identifying all the alternatives. • Identifying the benefits of the alternatives • Reviewing ethical implications and values associated with each alternative • Identifying risks or costs associated with each alternative • Using a pre-determined set of criteria with which to make decisions

17. Criteria can include: • Cultural Competency • Self-determination/inclusion • Access to Services • Adequacy of Services • Distributional Issues (Do people most in need of service receive them?) • Equality (everyone receives the same amount) • Equity (benefits are related to how much individuals or groups have contributed) • Benefit-Cost Ratio or Efficiency (does the dollar value of benefits outweigh cost) • Cost-Efficiency – the plan that produces the highest volume of benefits or the most services at the least cost

18. Other ways to make good decisions: • Principle of Transitivity If plan A is better than plan B. If plan B is better than C. Then plan A is better than C • Decision Trees (Laying out the possible options results and chances of success)

19. Once a plan is chosen • A chart listing all actions needed to implement the plan and a time-line for each action should be completing. • Tasks should be allocated to each person who is responsible for carrying them out. • The administrator or group leader is responsible for making sure that the assigned person completes the task and motivate staff or group members so that they will complete the task. • Program operations are monitored to ensure everything is running smoothly and that resources are used appropriately (Program monitoring). Most organizations have management information systems (MIS) that allow administrators to do this.

20. The last step is evaluation: • Have outcomes been achieved? • Has the process worked well and produced the intended results? What good be done better next time? • Have quality standards been maintained?