Scenario Solution

"An organization is a place with definite goals and objectives. It has several people working to achieve those goals. Some work at a smaller level, while some work at a higher level. However, everyone works for the development of the organization. Planning, organizing, managing, controlling and sustaining are the keys to organizational growth and development. At the departmental level, all these tasks are done by the supervisory level people and the junior management. But, who is the person taking care of the overall planning and management at the organizational level? Well, he/she is the executive director of the organization! An executive director is also termed or addressed as the chief executive officer of the organization, looking after the higher level management of administration, production, marketing, operational, quality and many such aspects, which constitute the business structure of the organization." (Buzzle 2000)

Executive directors are what make sure everything is done correctly and if there are any problems the executive director does whatever he/she can to solve the problem.

So, what if an executive director "of an established not-for-profit, community-based organization provider that offers high quality educational, vocational, and training services to various segments of the local population; in response to the increasing dropout rates of high school students in the local community and a worsening financial situation at the local school district, the organization is considering the opportunity to offer basic skills and vocational training programs in the community. The purpose of this new program is to equip high school dropouts with necessary skills needed to gain potential employment opportunities. The executive director has to justify the reasoning behind this new program and develop a complete launch plan, including a budget and consideration of environmental factors. The executive director must determine how data will be used to support the new program and consider human resources issues affecting this new program." (Axia College 2010)

Sounds like a lot of work, but this is one of many different types of scenarios that an executive director has to handle. In getting started with this plan the executive director must make a statement of opportunity. A statement of opportunity is a short, "clear and concise statement of the opportunity to be addressed". (Axia College 2010) A statement of opportunity is like a mission statement. "A good mission statement should be lofty and inspiring, concise, capable of being easily understood and remembered, should reflect the organization's fundamental purpose, and should indicate what the organization wants to accomplish in relation to the beneficiaries of its work. Mission statements should be stated in terms of the agency's projected ideal outcomes for the populations served." (Kettner 2000 pg. 72 phar.2)

The mission statement projected for this organization is:

To provide high-quality educational, vocational, and training services throughout the community to help with the increasing high school dropout level and the decreasing funding for the school system to ensure community success.

The organization will ensure that all high school dropouts of low income communities have the educational opportunities they deserve. The organization will recruit high school students and mobilize high school dropouts by teaching them useful plans for their life and future.

The next thing that the executive director needs to consider is how the issue will affect organizational structure. Organizational structure is very important it is what helps keep the employees organized in knowing what needs to be done. If an organization did not have organizational structure the business would not succeed because the employees would not know what to do.

"Organizational structure can determine any or all of the following factors. The focus of work and the extent to which an employee can use his or her independent expertise and judgment, locus of responsibility which is who is responsible and who will be held accountable for what types of accomplishments, supervision and direction which includes who will do performance appraisals and determine such factors as merit increases and promotions, the lines of communication which is who communicates with whom about what issues, the extent of participation in agency planning and decision making, and the extent to which a particular employee or unit can have an impact on organizational mission and goals." (Kettner 2000 pg. 87-88 phar. 3 & 1) All of the different types of items that can affect organizational structure could eventually have an interaction with this type of issue that the executive director is facing.

The focus of work needs to be done to allow all employees in the organization that are helping with this project to know that they may not always get to do what they want, but will be asked to do what is needed. The employees should know that they are asked to do certain things because they need to be done and each part of the organization is just as important as the next.

The locus of responsibility will be in this organization because each job title needs to know their duties and needs to be required to meet their duties. If a person is hired to do a job they are expected to do their job to the fullest extent and that means meeting all requirements of that position.

Supervision is an important factor in organizational structure and supervision is not just in this organization, but all organization. Supervision is needed to make sure that things are being done correctly and on time. If employees did not have supervision they may not stay on track and each employee themselves may try to be the leader, which can cause conflict. By allowing one person to lead projects and the organization; it adds structure and production to the organization.

Lines of communication are one of the most important factors in an organization. If communication is not open and forward an organization can fail. It is crazy to think that an issue as small as good communication can make or break a business, but a person must look at a job like a relationship in a sense. If the lines of communication are not open in a relationship the relationship normally fails. Employees need to know they can have an open professional communication relationship with their supervisor and the supervisor must feel they can have an open professional communication relationship with their employees. Open communication can allow for better success throughout an organization; it can also save time and confusion.

The extent of participation is an organizational structure that can help develop the organization. The extent of participation