Results-oriented versus Process-oriented Human Service Organizations

Author(s):  
Anthony L. Hemmelgarn ◽  
Charles Glisson

This chapter explains the ARC principle of being results oriented versus process oriented. The results-oriented principle requires that human service organizations evaluate performance based on how much the well-being of clients improves. The principle addresses deficits in service caused by the conflicting priority of evaluating performance with process criteria such as the number of clients served, billable service hours, or the extent to which bureaucratic procedures such as the completion of paperwork are followed. Results-oriented organizations are described in detail, including case examples from decades of organizational change efforts by the authors in human service organizations. The chapter documents the importance of results-oriented approaches and underlying implicit beliefs to help the reader understand how mindsets and mental models shared among organizational members influence results-oriented approaches and effectiveness in practice. Supporting research, including feedback and goal-setting research are highlighted.

Author(s):  
Anthony L. Hemmelgarn ◽  
Charles Glisson

This chapter explains how mission-driven organizations require that all administrative, managerial, and service provider behavior and decisions contribute to improving the well-being of clients. This principle addresses the threat posed by the conflicting organizational priority of relying on bureaucratic processes and rules to guide policy and practice decisions. The description of mission-driven versus rule-driven organizations includes case examples, empirical evidence supporting the principle, and discussion of the central of role of aligning organizational priorities to focusing on improving client well-being. The chapter explains what it means to be mission driven, the role of leadership in supporting the principle, and why it is important. The chapter also describes the mechanisms that link being mission driven to effective services, including maintaining clear direction for all organizational members in their work, promoting motivation and shared purpose and fostering innovation. A case example illustrates ARC’s success to become more mission-driven.


Author(s):  
Anthony L. Hemmelgarn ◽  
Charles Glisson

This chapter introduces ARC’s principle of being participatory based. This principle requires the active, open participation of front-line staff, middle managers, and top administrators in decisions about practices and policies that affect the well-being of clients served by their organization. It counters the conflicting priority of prescribing change in a top-down manner without the benefit of the experience of those closest to service provision. The chapter explains how participatory-based organizations impact staff discretion, motivation, learning, and engagement with clients and reviews the empirical evidence that supports participatory-based approaches. This evidence includes research in social cognition and neuroscience. Case examples illustrate the positive impact of participatory approaches on service provider and client outcomes, outlining their influence through norms and expectations as well as underlying beliefs and assumptions.


Author(s):  
Anthony L. Hemmelgarn ◽  
Charles Glisson

This chapter provides case examples from the authors’ work within human service organizations that illustrate the importance of addressing OSCs: including culture, climate, and worker attitudes. These examples of the influence of OSC provide the reader with an understanding of how social contexts affect human services quality and outcomes along with implications for improving them. The chapter explains the sensitivity of human service effectiveness to OSC and describes the social processes that explain its influence. Case examples are used to illustrate the influence of shared mindsets and worker attitudes within OSCs. These examples include the influence of shared beliefs, assumptions, and attitudes of service providers on client and staff relationships that affect services quality.


Author(s):  
Thomas Packard

A number of methods for improving organizational operations are becoming more common in human service organizations. Capacity building typically addresses enhancing management systems capacity in areas such as strategic planning, information systems, and fund development. Benchmarking and best practices are tools that can be used at the level of the entire organization or for specific service delivery practices to search for models that can be adapted to one’s own organization. Implementing evidence-based practices, known broadly as implementation science, is a very common organizational change challenge for human service organizations these days. Formal evidence-based practice implementation methods for human service organizations include the exploration, adoption/preparation, implementation, and sustainment model and the work of the National Implementation Research Network. Organizational learning and learning organization principles are become increasingly better known in human service organizations and actually represent an arena of organizational change that can help organizations develop ongoing methods for continuous improvement.


Author(s):  
Anthony L. Hemmelgarn ◽  
Charles Glisson

This chapter explains that members of improvement-directed organizations are never satisfied with the status quo and never stop looking for more effective ways to serve their clients. The principle addresses the conflicting priority represented by individuals in formal organizations resisting change and clinging to established protocols, regardless of whether the existing protocols promote improvements in the well-being of clients. The chapter describes improvement-directed organizations, including their application of continuous improvement processes, norms that support ongoing improvement, and behaviors that drive innovation and ongoing growth and development. The chapter presents research evidence and case studies to illustrate how systems and processes, decisions, actions, and behaviors, as well as assumptions and beliefs, need to be addressed to create improvement-directed organizations. Specific case examples illustrate ARC’s application to build improvement-directed organizations.


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