Green Hill Community Center - Case Study Example

? Table of Contents Introduction 3 Analysis of Mission of the Greenhill Community Center 3 Board Members Responsibilities and Governance Structure 4 Most Pressing Issues faced by Greenhill Community Center 5 Analysis of the CEO’s Actions 6 Evaluation of the Strategy Adopted by Leslie and Obstacles Faced 6 Recommendations 7 References 9 Introduction The Greenhill Community Center (GCC) is providing multiple services, including day care for children, afterschool programs, music classes, programs for the elderly and other human services in Coastal City, a very poor city on East Coast. This report evaluates the current management issues in the Greenhill Community Center with the introduction of a new executive director; the report entails a critical evaluation of the existing and newly developed issues faced by the new Executive Director, the performance of the board members and staff and the trustees in light of the principles and practices of nonprofit management. According to Worth (2011), all nonprofit organizations must be managed except the very small organizations, in order to meet society’s demands and expectations as well as to avoid the risks to their survival. The nonprofit sector has gained augmented attention due to its dramatic growth and increased assets; it has gained the status of a consequential part of the economy that cannot be ignored (Craver, 2006). Therefore, the stakeholders including the legislature, media and civil society demand the accountability of the assets entrusted to the nonprofit organizations and results achieved through these assets (Worth, 2011). Analysis of Mission of the Greenhill Community Center According to Worth (2011), nonprofit organizations do not indulge in issuing stock shares or the distribution of surplus funds to shareholders and their main aim is to utilize available resources for achieving their mission. Every nonprofit organization must have a clear and concise mission statement and it should devise objectives to attain these aims (Chait, Ryan and Taylor, 2005). The case study clearly shows that Greenhill Community Center has a definite and well defined mission; the main focus of the center is to provide social services to the people of Coastal city. Its main aim is to provide human service programs based on learning and growth by maintaining an intergenerational setting; these programs are designed for the babies, school going children, elderly people etc and entail music classes, day care, after school programs and programs for elderly. The analysis of the case study indicates that staff, board members and trustees are working in order to achieve this aim on their respective levels. The mission of the nonprofit organization (NPO) is the most clear when it is founded, the founders are aware of the basic purpose of fundraising and the difference it is going to make (Herman and Heimovics, 2005). With the passage of time, the addition of new programs due to the changing environment and needs decreases the attention to the basic programs (Worth, 2011). The same is happening with the GCC, its focus has diverted towards management, financial and diversification problems due to the influx of refugees from Southeast Asia. Board Members Responsibilities and Governance Structure Worth (2011) illustrated that governing boards of a NPO were responsible for ensuring the achievement of mission as well as the overall welfare of the organization. In GCC, the responsibilities are divided among four board members and they are directors of their respective departments. These members are led by the chief executive; the governance structure of the GCC along with the responsibilities of four board members is shown in Fig 1. Figure 1: Organizational Structure of Greenhill Community Centre The board has important role to play in the fund-raising along with some trustees who take active part in the fund-raising. According to Worth (2011), most of the NPOs are termed as corporations and the members of the governing boards are termed as directors under the law, the same organizational structure is followed by GCC. The directors organize competitive programs on small scale and assist in the fund-raising process; these programs include dancing and singing competitions. However, these small level programs can only earn 20 % of the revenue required and organization heavily relies on the trusties for its budget. Most Pressing Issues faced by Greenhill Community Center Although the GCC is facing a serious crisis and several problems including communication, resistance to change, financial management, fundraising, daily and reparatory expenses of the managers, maintenance of building, space, sexual abuse of the children in daycare etc, the two which are most important and needs to be addressed are communication and fundraising. Communication between CEO and directors is crucial to manage the resistance to change as well as better operational activities to achieve the basic aim of organization (Worth, 2011). From the income statement of the GCC clearly indicates that organization’s liabilities are more than its assets and funds are required to maintain the operations and pay the staff members for their services. According to Worth (2011), funding is the most important resource for an NPO. Keeping in view the importance of these two issues, it is indispensible for the CEO to address these issues in order to move forward. Analysis of the CEO’s Actions Leslie has scheduled weekly meeting with all the directors along with the frequent individual meetings in order to enhance and strengthen the communication process. She hired the United Way to conduct the management survey of the GCC and presented the report and recommendations in front of the Trustees in a meeting. Despite the criticism on the report by some trustees, she implemented the suggestions of the United Way after few months to improve the management of GCC. These decisions depict the managerial and leadership skills of Leslie; management of NPOs also require the same level of skills as required for government and business organizations (Worth, 2011). The formation of center wide plan for the organization is another evidence of her management skills. Due to the complexity of the stakeholders in NPOs, the leadership requires exceptional negotiation and compromise skills (Worth, 2011). By these actions, Leslie wants to make the directors realize that they must not hesitate to share their ideas and criticism. These decisions add up to her strategy for leveling the playing field and implement her basic plan to achieve aims of the organization. Evaluation of the Strategy Adopted by Leslie and Obstacles Faced Leslie has adapted a flexible strategy and she is ready to leave any issues that are controversial but does not give away her ideas. According to Worth (2011), managing an NPO is altogether different from managing a business firm. She wants to introduce changes in the GCC and convert it into a more professional organization rather than a family organization as it was in the former CEO’s leadership. The strongest obstacle in implementing this strategy is the resistance to change among the directors as well as staff members. This strategy can work effectively if resistance to change is overcome through effective communication and utilization of transformational leadership skills (Worth, 2011). The directors are not cooperating in the implementation of this strategy and she has got only a little support from the trustees. Worth (2011) illustrated that compromise based management strategy is successful but it takes considerable time, the same is true for Leslie’s policy. Recommendations According to Worth (2011), to be an effective liaison between trustees and directors of the organization, NPO managers should act as a bridge between the two and convey policies of trustees to staff and demands of the staff to trustees. Leslie should keep the directors away from the meeting with trustees and their subcommittees and effectively represent them in the board meetings. She should utilize group decision making process and try to take feedback from the directors. For the current crisis, she should arrange a meeting with the board directors and devise a criterion for the selection of part time and full time employees of the organization. Good communication skills are the best tools for dealing with the crisis situations in NPO management (Worth, 2011). References Carver, J. (2006). Boards that make a difference: A new design for leadership in nonprofit and public organizations (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Chait, R. P., Ryan, W. R., & Taylor, B. E. (2005). Governance as leadership: Reframing the work of nonprofit boards. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Herman, R. D., and Heimovics, D. (2005). Executive Leadership. In Th e Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, 2nd ed., edited by Robert Ingram, R. T. (2003). Ten basic responsibilities of nonprofit boards. Washington, DC: BoardSource. Worth, M. J. (2011). Nonprofit Management: Principles and Practices, 2nd ed. Washington D.C: Sage Publications, Inc. Read More