Teach for America to Increase the Workforce and Adopt New Technology - Case Study Example

Running header: Teach for America to increase the workforce and adopt new technology Teach for America to increase the workforce and adopt new technology Name Course Tutor Date Introduction Teach for America is a national organization for exemplary college graduates, professionals and university graduates. Each member of the organization dedicate two years to teach in public schools situated in rural areas with the goal of ensuring education for all citizens in the country. Teach for America is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1990. The organization’s headquarters are in New York City. It has recorded steady growth since it was founded. Currently, it has more than 5000 employees. Teach for America is looking to reach out to the low income community and promote education relentlessly. The organization has been expanding over the years and its operations are extending all over the United States. The organization is looking to increase its workforce in order to expand its operations all over the nation. This paper will focus on the systemic nature of the organization and how the increase in the workforce will improve the effectiveness of the organization, its processes and the productivity of the employees. Effects of the increase in the number of employees Teach for America is a nonprofit organization that seeks to provide education opportunities to children in America, both in urban and rural areas regardless of the size of their parents and guardian’s income. The organization has formed partnerships with several charity organizations and depends on donations from companies and well wishers. The organizations appeals to alumni graduates and leaders to join and become mentors to young students pursuing academic greatness. The key stakeholders in the organization are the human asset business partners that ensure that the organizational goals are met. It ensures that teamwork is upheld in the organization (Strachan, 1996). Increasing the organization’s workforce will translate to a bigger budget and a change in the management to accommodate the new employees. In addition to this, the business partners will have to increase their evaluation personnel to oversee the implementation of the set out plans. There will be a panel of experts who will assign jobs to the new employees according to their specific qualifications (Strachan, 1996). The management will have to come up with ways to fund the change since more funds are required to compensate the new employees. The deficit from the annual budget increase will also call for the injection of more funds in order to cater for the new projects. The organization aims at reaching out to more children from the rural areas. An increase in the number of poor students that the organization supports will have a divine funds straining effect on the organization. Increase in responsibility as funds remain constant leads to financial strains (Strachan, 1996). In order to cater for the financial requirements, the organization might be forced to lower on the employees’ compensation amount. This will ensure that whatever amount is available is equally distributed among the entire workforce. However, this will have a negative effect on the employees since it might kill their moral as they are going to be doing more work than they are being rewarded for. If the organization is to increase its workforce therefore, they will have to come up with better ways to raise funds (Hanson, 1999). An increase in the workforce will enhance the overall performance of the organization. It will enable the organization to reach out to a greater number of children in the rural areas and to motivate those already in schools. There are wide regions that need to be covered. The organization strives to ensure that education opportunities are provided to children and therefore the move to increase the workforce is parallel to the organization’s mission statement (Hanson, 1999). An increase in the workforce will also translate to a transformation in the way roles in the organization are carried out. There will be no overworking of employees or assigning projects to under qualified employees. Each staff member will work solely in his or her field of study thus the organization’s goals will be easily achieved. The organization has a deficit in workforce in several regions and an increase in the workforce will greatly alleviate the situation (Strachan, 1996). Teach for America is a nonprofit organization and therefore competition is not a driving force. The only motivating factor would be the urge to achieve its objectives. Its objective is to invest in leaders and to fuel a long term effect in the society. To achieve this, the organization should expand significantly to reach out to every single disadvantaged child in the nation. Increasing the workforce would be a positive turn towards the quest (Hanson, 1999). The increase in personnel will definitely cause a disruption in the normal working of the already existing personnel. A short term psychological effect is inevitable in the field work among the workers. Some employees will have to give up on certain roles that they have been doing and hand them over to the new employees. Some will have to adopt other roles. This might cause short term stress to employees who will have to shift to completely different areas from those they have been accustomed to (Bradford & Burke, 2005). The organization works under team. Each team is given a certain project to deal with, with the team leaders acting as intermediaries between the employees and the business partners. Introduction of new team members might slow up progress in the projects since the team members will have to bond with each other first so that they can synchronize their work speeds and mentality (Bradford & Burke, 2005). This will have to be addressed because it can take a long time before the individual team mates can form a working relationship with each other. Effects of the new technology Technology is constantly changing. Teach for America looks to adopt the latest technology in the teaching field. This is a move aimed at making the work of the employees easier and more enjoyable. The move will also increase the scope of target population since the organization will be able to reach more children and students. The latest technology involves using the internet and other gadgets to reach out to the target group (Bryant, 2012). The new technology will mean that all the employees will have to get acquainted with it. There will have to be short courses offered to train the employees on how to use the new gadgets and the general new technology. The existing personnel is full of intellectuals hence adopting the new technology will not be a hurdle for them. However, a problem may arise if the plan is received with a lot of negative criticism. The employees might take a lot of time before upholding the change (Bryant, 2012). The use of social networks like Facebook and Twitter to motivate the young achievers will be effective since the current generation is well equipped with internet skills. Setting up online guidance platforms will ensure that the professionals and leaders in the Teach for America organization counsel and mentor more students. The organization may even set up online libraries that will be accessible to all the student of all ages within their network of operation (Bryant, 2012). The new technology will also limit on the number of new employees that the organization will require in the near future. It may even cause downsize of personnel after it has been fully adopted since the organization will reach out to more students through it, making human assets irrelevant in some areas. The current employees may foresee this and purposely refuse to adapt to the change in order to secure their jobs (Bryant, 2012). Taking up the latest technology will require a lot of funds. The organization will have to come up with profound wooing techniques to get donors to contribute towards the same. It will be a risky business if the organization gambles with its annual budget since the assets gained will not generate any income in return. Cutting on the projects funds would also be out of question since that would paralyze the progress and in turn work against the organization’s objectives (Bryant, 2012) Change management approach The main aim of change management is to minimize work distraction and stress experienced by the employees. Teach for America should formulate a strategic change management approach. They should ensure that the already existing employees do not feel the impact of change. There are a number of ways that the organization can minimize adverse impact on the organization and its employees (Anderson & Anderson, 2001). First, the management should take a pre-change research on all the employees to establish the bracket of employees that is more likely to be badly affected. This can be easily defined by handing all the employees questionnaires. Questions addressing the entire change process and the hypothesized positive or negative effects should be included. Moreover, space in which employees’ general view of the change is included should be present (Anderson & Anderson, 2001). Once the Teach for America management has identified the areas to address in their change management plan, then they can go ahead and draft it. The next step would be to identify the tools to be used to address the rising issues on the employees’ part. Teach for America should ensure that the tools they use to tackle the stress brought about by the huge number of new employees do not do more harm than good. They could hold organizational acquaintance parties for the employees to bond. They could also form sports events whereby different teams compete against each other. This will hasten the relationship between the employees (Anderson & Anderson, 2001). To prevent cash deficit during the transition period that might demoralize the employees, the organization could hold fund raising campaigns and appeal to their partners to contribute to the course. Teach for America also has an option to involve the government in its change process. They could appeal to the government to contribute to their charity course. If bad comes to worse, the organization should set aside funds that will ensure that the employees compensation are not affected (Whelehan, 1995). The technology is expected to bring drastic change on the running of the organization. The implementation of the projects will different from the normal activities since the use of gadgets will make it easier to reach out to the targeted audience. Teachers will no longer be required to carry bulky books and teaching equipment; rather, they will just be feeding information to the gadgets and projecting the information in simpler and more effective modes. Some employees might be laid off due to the efficiency in the use of technology (Whelehan, 1995). Citing the above impact of technology, Teach for America should psychologically prepare the employees for a potential lay off. This could be simplified by signing contracts with the employees that will be renewed annually or bi-annually. This way, the employees will be ready for a renewal or termination of contract and the company won’t have to abruptly lay off anyone. The organization should also look forward to expanding and even possibly get international. This will ensure that they keep absorbing more employees (Whelehan, 1995). Teach for America should open up channels for the employees to forward their complaints and challenges they face due to the organizational changes that are set to be executed. The same employees should contribute to the possible ways to curb the negative effects of change. Understanding the problems first should be the first step. The human resource department should open discussion boards to provide platforms for one on one interaction between the employees and the management (Papa, Daniels & Spiker, 2008). The change management approach to be used should ensure that it goes in line with the key stakeholders’ requirements. It should also ensure that the organization processes are not in any way disrupted. The approach should cause a smooth transition period. In addition to this, the approach should be cost effective. The organization should minimize on internal costs and focus on the core business which is to promote education to the needy children (Papa, Daniels & Spiker, 2008). The organization should also keep the stakeholders updated on every move they make. A clear list of the benefits of every move that the management opts for should be drafted and presented to the stakeholders. The cost of the processes should also be summarized and presented. Similarly, the pros and cons of every major decision should be discussed in details so that the stakeholders can keep track of the organization’s events. Maintaining transparency with the stakeholders is vital for any organization. It is a sign of integrity and responsibility and it builds the stakeholders’ trust on the management (Papa, Daniels & Spiker, 2008). The organization should formulate efficient education plan for its staff members on the use of the latest technological devices. This could be extended to the target audience in the rural areas who might also need to be introduced to the latest technology. The company should donate some gadgets to the poor children so that they can also keep up with technology. This way, the interaction between the teachers and the students will be easier. It is quite easy for children to be fascinated by technology and this will increase their urge to understand more about it. This will make the learning process faster and more entertaining for both the teachers and the students (Papa, Daniels & Spiker, 2008). The organization should also be geared up to counter any resistance emanating from the employees. There is always a chance of conflict between the management and the employees of an organization during major organizational transitions. Teach for America should be prepared to streamline the minds of the resisting employees. They could try explaining the benefits of the change to the employees. The organization should also ensure that there is minimal incitation of the good employees by the resisting ones. An internal crisis should be prevented by all means. Tough disciplinary acts should be taken on any persistent employees who become adamant towards the change. After all, the organization’s mission and objectives should not be compromised by a group of employees (Philips, 1983). It is quite normal for a drastic organizational change to bring fear to some employees. Those employees who for instance, have to drop some of their current responsibilities and adopt others might feel like their jobs are being threatened. It is easy for such employees to be paranoid and think that they are being eliminated from the organization. In case of this, Teach for America should avail personal counseling to the affected employees. The counseling process should be done privately and confidentially (Philips, 1983). The management should also ensure that the change is implemented fully. There should be a significant change in the way the organization’s processes and projects are handled. The personnel should record a positive change in the efficiency and they should be able to reach out to a greater number of children from the low-income families and students in schools who need to be motivated towards achieving their goals. Teach for America should monitor the new employees to ensure that they deliver as required (Philips, 1983). Finally, Teach for America should work on their budget. The change process requires thorough scrutiny of the budget. Any loopholes in the budget could have dire effects on the company. The organization needs to record measurable achievements according to the interests of the stakeholders. Budgeting is the key to achieving the organization’s goals and therefore it should be done thoroughly. Any unnecessary costs should be avoided and the management should make wise decisions while it comes to cost cutting (Philips, 1983). Conclusion The increase in personnel will have a positive effect on the effectiveness of the organization. The organization will be able to expand its activities and consequently reach out to more children and students. This will be a major contribution to the organization’s objectives. The organization’s course requires a large number of employees and an increase would be appropriate. An upgrade in technology always gives good results in terms of job efficiency. Technology makes work easier and saves a lot of cash in the long run. The organization’s efficiency will climb a notch higher and its goals will be quickly realized. It is in everyone’s best interest to reach out to many children in the poor community. The organization seeks to make sure that they all get the best education and they are guided into achieving their personal goals. Teach for America’s course is inspiring and the organization deserves to be financially supported by well wishers and the government. The organization looks forward to a literate community that will be self dependent and productive. Everyone in the community should thus contribute in making this dream a reality. References Anderson, D. & Anderson, L.A. (2001). Beyond Change Management: Advanced Strategies for Today’s Transformational Leaders. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer. Bryant, Bradley J. (2012). Benefits of Technology in Business. Retrieved From: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/benefits-technology-business-336.html Bradford, David L. & Burke, W. W. (2005). Reinventing organizational development: New approaches to change in organizations. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer. Hanson, Jody. (1999). Steps for Organizational Change. eHow money. Retrieved from: http://www.ehow.com/how_8277194_steps-organizational-change.html Papa, M.J. & Daniels, T.D. & Spiker, B.K. (2008). Organizational Communication: Perspective and Trends Sage. Phillips, J. R. (1983). Enhancing the Effectiveness of Organizational Change Management. Human Resource Management, 22(1/2), 183-199 Strachan, P. A. (1996). Achieving environmental excellence through effective teamwork. Journal of Team Performance Management, 2, 25–29. Whelehan, S. (1995). Capturing a Moving Target: Change Management. Consultants News. Read More