Discussion: Addressing Change

 Planning for change may initially seem like a contradictory phrase—if change is a part of the unknown, how can social work administrators plan for it? Even if administrators do not have a crystal ball to see the future, they can take proactive steps to help prepare their organizations to respond to changes that occur inside and outside the organization. In addition, social work administrators must develop a strategic plan that communicates the organization’s long-term vision. Community stakeholders are essential in strategic planning because they can assist with developing this vision. These stakeholders can also work in partnership with the organization to implement the strategic plan to achieve the selected goals and milestones. 

 

 

What does a leader do when things do not go as planned? How can a leader help to restore or improve an organization’s operations when a situation stalls or interferes with its functions? Although taking a proactive approach to planning is desired, change may occur suddenly and unexpectedly causing immediate consequences. A skilled leader must be able to assess a situation in order to prioritize the steps necessary to stabilize the organization. This process must focus on a short-term strategy to address immediate concerns and include strategic decisions that will affect the long-term sustainability of the organization.

For this Discussion, you address the Southeast Planning Group (SPG) case study in the Social Work Case Studies: Concentration Year text.

 

Post an analysis of the change that took place in the SPG. Furthermore, suggest one strategy that might improve the organizational climate and return the organization to optimal functioning. Provide support for your suggested strategy, explaining why it would be effective.

Support your post with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.

 

 

Working With Organizations: The Southeast Planning Group

The Southeast Planning Group (SPG) is an organization that was created in 2000 to facilitate the Office of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Continuum of Care planning process. The key elements of the approach were strategic planning, data collection systems, and an inclusive process that involved clients and service providers. The fundamental components of the system are 1) outreach, intake, and assessment; 2) emergency shelter; 3) transitional housing; and 4) permanent housing and permanent supportive housing. The outreach, intake, and assessment component identifies an individual’s or family’s needs in order to connect them with the appropriate resources. Emergency shelter provides a safe alternative to living on the streets. Transitional housing provides supportive services such as recovery services and life skills training to help clients develop the skills necessary for permanent housing. The final component, permanent housing, works with clients to obtain long-term affordable housing.

SPG works with the local government; service providers; the faith, academic, and business communities; homeless and formerly homeless individuals; and concerned citizens in the designated service area. During the first 5 years of its existence, SPG was staffed by one part-time and four full-time staff members and oversight was provided by a 21-member board. SPG’s founding director was well respected and liked in the community. She was noted for her ability to bring stakeholders together across sectors and focus on the single mission of ending homelessness.

After serving 5 years as the executive director, she abruptly resigned amidst rumors that she was forced out by the board. Although she had been effective in bringing people together, there were concerns that the goals and objectives had not been met, and there was a lack of confidence in her ability to grow the organization. Approximately one month after her resignation, a new executive director was hired.

One of the new director’s first priorities was to reconfigure the structure of the organization in order to increase efficiency. As a result of the restructuring, two positions were eliminated. The people who were let go had been with the organization since it was created, and similar to the previous director, they had strong ties to the community. Once the community and SPG’s partners learned about the changes, there was suspicion about the new leadership and the direction they wanted to take the organization. Stakeholders were split in their views of the changes—some agreed that they were necessary in order to advance the goals of the organization, while others felt the new leadership was “taking over” with a hidden agenda to promote its own self-interest.

I worked with the group as an evaluation consultant to assess the SPG partnership during this period of transition. In order to assess how these changes were perceived by the stakeholders, I conducted key informant interviews with various stakeholders, both internal and external to the organization. The partners shared many insights about how the month without consistent leadership contributed to the uncertainty about SPG’s purpose and strategy, and it was generally agreed that the leadership transition was not handled well. The results from the evaluation were used to help SPG identify strategies to improve communication with stakeholders and utilize the director’s leadership role to build upon the organization’s past successes while preparing for future growth.

(Plummer 51-52)

 

 

 

References (use 3 or more)

Lauffer, A. (2011). Understanding your social agency (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Sage.

Northouse, P. G. (2018). Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Sage.

Finley, D. S., Rogers, G., Napier, M., & Wyatt, J. (2011). From needs-based segmentation to program realignment: Transformation of YWCA of Calgary. Administration in Social Work, 35(3), 299–323.

Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. M. (Eds.). (2014b). Social work case studies: Concentration year. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing [Vital Source e-reader].

“Social Work Supervision, Leadership, and Administration: The Southeast Planning Group” (pp. 85–86)

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Human Resource Management 6011 Discussion

Prochaska and DiClemente’s Stages of Change model looks at the behavioral changes clients go through in each stage. Understanding the principles of the model and best practices, can help with client success. Being knowledgeable in using the model can help reduce resistance, help clients to progress, and keep clients from relapses. The question to ask yourself is, “Does this model work on all cultures, ethnicities, countries, and situations?” Why or why not?

To Prepare

Locate three peer-reviewed articles on Prochaska and DiClemente’s Stages of Change (part of the Transtheoretical Model). Ensure your research on this model includes other cultures, ethnicities, or countries than your own.

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CRITICAL THINKING

PICK ONE OF THE TOPIC FROM BELOW AND WRITE 1500 WORDS IN MLA STYLE.

 

 

. Prenatal Development 

Design an education course for expectant parents. At the minimum, prepare an outline of all the topics that you would cover in this course and include a description of any activities and resources you would use.

2. Infant Development 

Observe the motor behavior of an infant (0-3 years) over three (3) periods of at least 30 minutes. You may interact with the infant during this time. Record your detailed, objective observations, then write out your evaluation of the infant’s motor development based on the information presented in this course.

3. Preschool Development 

Observe the language behavior of a pre­school child (3-6 years) over three (3) periods of at least 30 minutes. You may interact with the child during this time. Record your detailed, objective observations, then write out your evaluation of the child’s language development based on the information presented in this course.

4. Middle Childhood Development 

Observe the play behavior of a middle-years child (6-12 years) over three (3) periods of at least 30 minutes. Do not interact with the child during this time. Try to make your presence as inconspicuous as possible. You may want to go to a park or playground. Record your detailed, objective observations then write out your evaluation of the child’s play/social development based on the information presented in this course.

5. Adolescent Development

Make up at least ten (10) open-ended questions and ask them of a minimum of 5 adolescents. The questions could concern school, sex, food, use of time, occupation, plans for the future, etc. Record their answers as best you can and then write out your evaluation of the adolescents’ identity formation based on the information presented in this course.

6. Adult Development 

Write your autobiography from your earliest memories to your present stage of adult development. The focus of this paper should be on the determinants of your present personality. Using Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, state how you think you resolved each of the crises of development (for early stages, you may have to ask others or draw conclusions based on your present personality). Give specific examples from your life story to support your conclusions.

7. Aging

Make up at least ten open-ended questions and ask them of a minimum of 5 individuals over the age of 65. Among the questions that you should ask them are, “What would you do differently if you had your life to live over again?” and “What advice would you give a person of my age on how to live a meaningful life?” Write your questions and the answers received in your paper and include any conclusions you would make about aging.

8. Death and Dying

Design a death education course that would help you deal with your own death or the death of a loved one. Prepare an outline of all of the topics you would cover in this course, and include a description of any activities and resources you would use.

 
 
 

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PICK ANY ONE OF THE TOPIC BELOW AND WRITE 1500 WORDS IN MLA STYLE

· Critical thinking paper 

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· 1. A case study. Deborah Shore, aged 45, works for a small corporation in the Research and Development department. When she first became a member of the department 15 years ago, Deborah was an unusually creative and productive researcher; her efforts quickly resulted in raises and promotions within the department and earned her the respect of her colleagues. Now, Deborah finds herself less interested in doing research; she is no longer making creative contributions to her department, although she is making contributions to its administration. She is still respected by the coworkers who have known her since she joined the firm, but not by her younger coworkers.

Analyze the case study from the psychoanalytic, learning, and contextual perspectives: how would a theorist from each perspective explain Deborah’s development? Which perspective do you believe provides the most adequate explanation, and why?

2. Interview your mother (and grandmothers, if possible), asking about experiences with childbirth. Include your own experiences if you have had children. Write a paper summarizing these childbirth experiences and comparing them with the contemporary experiences described in the text.

3. Identify a “type” of parent (e.g., single parent, teenage parent, low-income parent, dual-career couple) who is most likely to be distressed because an infant has a “difficult” temperament. Explain why you believe that this type of parent would have particular problems with a difficult infant. Write an informational brochure for the selected type of parent. The brochure should include an explanation of temperament in general and of the difficult temperament in particular, and give suggestions for parents of difficult infants.

4. Plan an educational unit covering nutrition, health, and safety for use with preschoolers and kindergartners. Take into account young children’s cognitive and linguistic characteristics. The project should include (1) an outline of the content of the unit; and (2) a description of how the content would be presented, given the intellectual abilities of preschoolers. For example, how long would each lesson be? What kinds of pictures or other audiovisual materials would be used? How would this content be integrated with the children’s other activities in preschool or kindergarten?

5. Visit two day care centers and evaluate each center using the information from the text as a guide. Request a fee schedule from each center. Write a paper summarizing your evaluation of each center. Note: Unless you are an actual potential client of the center, contact the director beforehand to explain the actual purpose of the visit, obtain permission to visit, and schedule your visit so as to minimize disruption to the center’s schedule.

6. Watch some children’s television programs and advertising, examine some children’s toys and their packaging, read some children’s books, and listen to some children’s recordings, looking for evidence of sex-role socialization. Write a paper comparing these contemporary influences with those you remember from your own childhood, and discuss the implications of the differences and similarities you find.

7. Write a paper describing things your parents did to help you in school and anything your parents did that hindered you in school. If you have young brothers and/or sisters, include your parents’ influences on their education. Analyze your parents’ actions from the standpoint of the characteristics discussed in the text.

8. Write a paper summarizing the theoretical perspectives on identity presented in the textbook. Identify the perspective you find most acceptable, and justify your choice. Evaluate the information in light of your own development in adolescence.

9. A case study. Julie is a 40-year-old homemaker. Besides chauffeuring her very active 13-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter to school activities, maintaining the household, and providing emotional support to her husband (who is facing a stressful job situation), Julie cares for her 70-year-old widowed father. Her father had a stroke last year. After her father’s stroke, Julie dropped the two college courses she had been taking, so that she could visit him regularly in the hospital and help with his rehabilitation there. When he was released from the hospital, he moved into her home for an indefinite period. That seemed to be the only option other than a nursing home. Julie’s brother and sister live out of town and are unable to provide physical care for their father. It has now been several months since Julie’s father moved into her home. Julie is feeling overwhelmed as she tries to meet the needs of her father, her husband, and her children.

Write a paper discussing steps that could be taken to solve or prevent problems for Julie and possible pitfalls in taking these steps. Dimensions of the situation that you will want to consider include (1) finances, (2) health, (3) emotional functioning of individuals, and (4) relationships between family members.

10. Many colleges and universities allow older people to audit courses tuition-free. But–perhaps because the arrangement does not generate tuition–most institutions do not actively promote this option or encourage people to take advantage of it; the number of older people who actually enroll in such courses tends to be fairly low. Suppose that your college began taking aggressive and effective measures to encourage elderly people to enroll in courses, with the eventual result that around half of the students in most classes were 65 or older. Write a paper discussing two issues. First, how should instructors modify their teaching and their evaluation and testing procedures in response to this change in the student population, given the material in the text describing older adults’ cognitive performance and abilities? Second, how would classes be enriched by an increase in the proportion of older students, and how would classes suffer through such an increase?

11. Although most older people prefer to live independently in the community, and most are successful in doing so, institutional care is an essential option for an aging population. Some facilities are excellent, providing high-quality care, comfort, and intellectual and social stimulation. However, even in these excellent settings, there is probably some room for improvement. Develop a description of an ideal nursing home. Your description should include the approximate number of residents, the approximate number of staff members, the qualifications of the staff, the physical design of the facility, provisions for promoting contact between residents and the community, and activities offered within the facility.

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