Organizational Change and Development in Human Service Organizations: A Prefatory Essay

2012 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
David Bargal ◽  
Hillel Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Human Service ◽  
Human Service Organizations ◽  
Service Organizations

Results-oriented versus Process-oriented Human Service Organizations

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony L. Hemmelgarn ◽  
Charles Glisson
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Mental Models ◽  
Goal Setting ◽  
Human Service ◽  
Human Service Organizations ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Service Organizations ◽  
Implicit Beliefs ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Process Oriented

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.

Improvement Methods for Human Service Organizations

2021 ◽  
pp. 275-291
Author(s):  
Thomas Packard
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Human Service ◽  
Human Service Organizations ◽  
Service Organizations ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Evidence Based Practices ◽  
National Implementation ◽  
Fund Development ◽  
Practice Implementation

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.

Organizational Change Within Morally Ambiguous Contexts: A Case Study of Conflicting Postmerger Discourses

2010 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eli Teram
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Organizational Leadership ◽  
Human Service ◽  
Human Service Organizations ◽  
Service Organizations ◽  
Food Services ◽  
Organizational Changes ◽  
Organizational Identities ◽  
Conflicting Discourses

Based on a case study of a merger between organizations working with youth in trouble, this article analyzes the parallel success and failure discourses representing management and staff’s conflicting views about the organizational change. The symbolic core of these conflicting discourses was the transformation of a group home’s kitchen to food services for the merged organizations. For management, this transformation signified one of the best and most visible outcomes of the merger in terms of efficiency; for staff, it provided the clearest evidence of the harm caused by the merger in terms of providing a caring environment for youth. These discourses are analyzed in relation to two conflicting organizational identities championed by management and staff. It is argued that such contested organizational changes provide opportunities for open discussions of the dilemmas faced by human service organizations within their morally ambiguous contexts. Ethical organizational leadership entails the facilitation of such dialogue rather than ignoring the connectivity between internal and external ambiguities and enforcing the managerial rationale for organizational change.

Where We Have Been and Where You may Go

2021 ◽  
pp. 329-340
Author(s):  
Thomas Packard
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Human Service ◽  
Change Process ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Human Service Organizations ◽  
Step Change ◽  
Service Organizations ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Change Leader ◽  
Principles And Standards

Organizational change is directed toward providing outstanding services and has a secondary purpose of providing a high-quality working life for staff. This chapter reviews the 12-step change process used in this book. Chapters on change methods can be seen as “menus” of items to be used as appropriate. Particular attention should be paid to assessment: The executive or other change leader should engage in thoughtful assessment about one’s own capacities and readiness for organizational change. This same assessment should be done for staff and the organization as a whole. It is important to remember that human service organizations are “moral organizations” with clear ethical principles and standards and missions to reduce suffering and social inequality. “Disruptive engagement” can be effective in rehumanizing work. Human service organizations face daunting challenges, but these can be met by competent and committed leaders and others in an organization. Planned organizational change can help.

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