Participatory-based versus Authority-based Human Service Organizations

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 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 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 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.


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):  
Jan Ivery

As environmental and organizational influences drive coalitions, shared service agreements, mergers, and other interorganizational alliances among health and human service organizations, social workers are frequently vital contributors. Interorganizational work is contextualized by reviewing its theoretical underpinnings, describing historical development, and discussing issues of language and definition. The wide range of relationships and corresponding structural options being implemented are explored. Sector-wide trends and their implications for interorganizational work are considered along with key factors for success and the growing role evaluation plays in promoting positive impact.


2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deirdre O’Sullivan ◽  
Julie K. Bates

The relationships among counselor personal states and work experiences (working alliance self-efficacy, burnout, flourishing, and caseload size) were investigated in a sample of rehabilitation counselors (N = 137). Results from regression analyses revealed 4 burnout factors are significantly and uniquely contributing to counselor flourishing levels. The results from a second model revealed that caseload size and working alliance efficacy are impacting overall burnout levels. The findings indicate that burnout and flourishing are strongly related to each other and may have implications for client outcomes. Counselors with high flourishing levels may shield clients from the negative effects of job related burnout. Caseload size is also contributing to burnout levels. Implications and recommendations for counselor self-care and workplace practices are discussed.


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