Human Services Management: Organizational Leadership

Human service organizations are programs that deal with the personal and social development of individuals, families, communities and society at large. For example, human service programs are run by management and conduct direct services such as training, education, therapy, counseling and or casework.  However, human service organization/management works indirectly social action, through consultation, referral, community development, advocacy, and or information dissemination. (Lewis, Lewis, Packard 2007, page 6) 

I will highly consider directive leadership in my human service organization. As a CEO of the organization, I will definitely assume personal responsibilities for making major decisions, and obligated to make things done. Although some tasks may be performed by staff members, also I will allow questions and suggestions from staff members, clients, and or stakeholders (Broad R 2005, page 4). This will allow my organization not to be in the closed box or closed mind kind of leadership. However, I also believe that on some issues that are not specialized on my profession I will use some other leadership styles such as delegative and or participative leaderships. For example, if there is some sort of outbreak in my school, I will delegate all appropriate decisions be made by school/organization Nurse. This is to avoid some professional mistakes that can be avoided is specialization and professionalism play its part.

My ambition is to establish an organization and become an effective leader who will influence future of community by desire to improve performance of human service by creating competent organization and goals. For example, Broad R. 2005, page 10 state that “effective managers are continuers working to help their organizations grow and change to meet new situations and to focus their members on the most significant issues”.

However, I’m intending to use an “Articulating a Future Orientation” as management setting. The reason I chose this setting is because it will consistently seeking out trends as a possible changes in demographics, funding, or public alignment. This trend will make me as an effective manager, and determine how determine how these trends will influence my management. (Broad R 2005, page 9)

Functions of the human service organization, as management settings of my desire, is to serve the community by advocating for children with developmental disabilities.  This association will deal with the educational needs and care of children in a day care setting. I know that this vast program will require a team with different specialties.  There will be a maximum of 25 children and 10 staffs in the organization.  Staffs are, 4 teachers specializing in social work for behavior and educational examinations, with one being an assistant manager and 4 teacher aides with a high school diploma and six week onsite training sessions with the children in the program. One nurse, will be responsible for medical needs and general health of the entire organization.  

The reason I chose this function, having disabled children as my clients is because they are most vulnerable groups in my community and need specialized advocates through a safe and unique setting that fits their needs and deliver service in the form of empowerment as early child hood education, and community awareness disabled individuals by aggressive community inclusions, activities, outings or socializations. For example, Reamer 2006, page 18 state that “the principle aim is to help the hungry, homeless, jobless, and destitute (and in some instances, the Godless) to muster their internal resources to lead more productive lives.” (Reamer 2006, page 18)

I will carry out this mission at start by initiating a day care program for children because I believe that community values starts from home and mostly child hood values, therefore to positively empower children is to establish a positive future community. Also, I will open a social center for development disabled children, parents and family may discuss their needs and what fits the child’s personality by using advocacy task force that I will put in place.

Community and recreational activities will also benefit the community because every child will have an opportunity to be treated like every other child. The organization will foster recreational occasions and not segregating these individuals in the closed areas with minimal access to the general public.  This organization will also acts as facilitator of organizations that shelter such individuals and develop a way of working together to create community awareness of rights and responsibility of community to do not discriminate children with development disabilities. For example, recently NY state governor has raised a point that has sadden me, that today, only 37 percent of people with disabilities are employed. This point was raised by governor after SNL incident.

Many organizations that serve development disability individuals have a very secluded type reputation, for example, the agency I work for doesn’t take their individuals to the mall, public parades, public parks, and public outings enough for them to at least develop some sort of learning skills and they attend these programs at a very minimal rate. Something that leading them to often having behaviors. I believe they misbehave because they don’t get exposed to these events enough to develop skills and awareness of public population that will make them not panic when they get out of their routines (home, Day treatment/rehab, and then back home).

However, my experience working with individuals/children I learned that consistencies build up a behavior, especially for developmental disabled individuals. Breaking consistence it always agitate individuals and most of the time they act up and misbehave.  By allowing the disabled individuals to be around others in the community can bring a positive exposure to others and for them.  It also can make individuals want to learn how to behave, due to consonance. 

At the beginning I’m not thinking of having a big organization, because human services requires management commitment to deliver desired service, specialized and trained staffs, ability to reach targeted goals and objectives, community values and ethics, ability to compete, productive management and supporting staffs, check and balance of management, self evaluation and analysis of the goals and situational factors. (Broad R 2005, page 4 and 5). This is to attract donors and to meet the community needs of our programs. I will set the size of the organization to grow accordingly depending on the resources such as donors/funds, staffs/volunteers, space, service, and population depending the region and so on.

As a leader of the organization I will be embedded with intellectual professionals who can articulate different visions that will always create challenge in order to influence competence, change and to meet organizational goals. Nature of my supervisory responsibilities will be to set out policies after meet with advisory board and pass to subordinate who will initiate training and clarification of the policies. However, the ultimate purpose of my policies as leader of the organization “is to enhance the well being of clients or consumers”. (Lewis, Lewis, Packard 2007, page 6)

Finally, I do recognize that directive leadership style can easily fall into jeopardy if an arrogant manager comes in place. For example arrogance comes in place when a manager exaggerates leadership, puts pride in the leadership, gets too confident and allows him/her –self importance to play a role in the leadership in steady of professionalism and mannerism. (Broad R 2005, page 4 and 5). However, I don’t consider myself having these arrogant qualities. I will put in place an evaluation of information system data base that implement check and balance of management by sending these evaluations to the Management, Board, and stakeholders if required. In order to gain public trust I will request recognition to the local government, state government and Federal government accordingly. This means, they will come do inspections as they see fit, annually. This will be an oversight strategy to filter and kind of arrogance if I happen to be not CEO in the future.

Reference:

1.                 Brody, R. (2005). Effectively managing human service organizations. Thousand Oaks, Calif., SAGE Publications.

2.                 Kenyon, P. (1999). What would you do? : an ethical case workbook for human service professionals. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Pub.

3.                 Reamer, F. G. (2006). Social work values and ethics. New York: Columbia University Press

4.                 Lewis, J. A., T. R. Packard, et al. (2007). Management of human service programs. Belmont, CA, Thomson Higher Education/Brooks/Cole.

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