A Social and Community Service in Australia - Case Study Example

KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS AND THE BUREAUCRACIES THEY FUNCTIONS WITHIN A community service organization is a system of processes, tasks and people which come together for the betterment of the community, at large, as the term itself suggests. There are some key characteristics which govern the foundation of every community service organization. Firstly, they have a strong passion for a specific mission. (Lyons, 2001) Whether it is the Aged and Community Services Australia or the UnitingCare Australia, they have a mission which guides them, which helps them in focusing their efforts in one area of community service, thus ensuring maximum attention in a given area. Then, there is an inherent trait of being scarce on resources, whether it is the finance or the volunteers. They have to do some hard work when it comes to optimization of resources. These organizations also believe in a culture where participation of the human resources, and their consensus in decision making matter. Informality is the basis of the environment. They also have to take care of not one financial bottom line, but of a mission bottom line, that is, they have to see if they are performing well when it comes to helping the aged for example. The results of the tasks that they indulge in are difficult to assess, since they affect the community more on the intangible side. Another characteristic is that the governing board plays a dual role, of overseeing the activities as well as supporting the mission of the community service organization. And lastly, the characteristic salient for the human resource of a community company is that they have mixed skills and skill levels, and the organization depends quite much on the participation from volunteers. As far as bureaucracies are concerned, let us first define the meaning of the term. Bureaucracy refers to the way in which the administration of any organization would execute its duties and make sure that all legal issues are adhered to, and arrange the same in a manner which is socially understandable and is organized enough for the stakeholders to follow. There has always been a debate if bureaucracy will apply to all sorts of organizations. And it is said that community service organizations cannot operate under a bureaucracy because they community service relies on social needs as well as political decisions which can affect them. Therefore, these bureaucratic systems, which work on rational forecasts, are difficult to apply to them. CLIENT BASES TYPES OF SERVICES PROVISION, POSSIBLE FUNDING BASES AND MANAGEMENT MODEL There are various types of community service organizations, which have service provisions for a varying client base. Its just like target marketing in marketing. If the company focuses on one segment, it gets easier for them to increase their revenue. Likewise, community service is better organized and successful when focused on one audience. There can be many client bases, namely: Community Service Organizations for the 1. Deaf/blind 2. Nursing and home care 3. Spreading of knowledge about Nigeria in Australia 4. People who suffer from Epilepsy 5. Child and family welfare These types of organizations have various sources for their funding. (Grant, 1992) The Government is very active in promoting the growth of such organizations, and thus provides funding at all levels. There are Commonwealth, State and Territory financial assistance. It even gives them information on how funds can be obtained through other sources. A webpage on the Parliament of Australia is especially dedicated to the funding issue faced by many community organizations, and a proper guide tells them the possible sources. Moreover, there are those NGOs, which work as a bridge between financial aid and these needy community groups which are low on resources. (National Library of Australia, 1994) An important management model is that of project management. Every community service organization works through projects. For instance a community for deaf and blind would try to do projects which would facilitate the target audience themselves, or they would raise the funds for helping them. Therefore, work happens in the form of projects, achieved one by one. Proper project management is the key to the success of any project. The role of the manager becomes very crucial here, since he is planning, organizing, leading and controlling the whole project on their own, trying to make good use of the time and money available. Software like Microsoft Project helps in this model. (Dwyer, 2004) The strengths are the cost benefit analysis this model gives to the manager and the provision to see ahead of time if any issues can arise. The weakness lies in the inability of software to estimate the unforeseen issues that might arise due to economic and political decisions. STRUCTURE AND DIVISION OF LABOR A community service organization in Australia is formed by incorporation, through passing proper legal obligations. The owners should have the time, and should be sure that they are serving a niche for a community service. Generally, the organization is incorporated as a company limited by guarantee or as an association. This allows the organization to stand apart on its own entity, separate from the identity of its owners, members or stakeholders. If an association, then they are allowed to function within a single state or territory. Else, in the case of being incorporated as a company, they can be allowed to spread nationally. The governance structure is laid out during the incorporation of the organization. It can be either based on membership, or it can have a board-only structure. (Lyons, 2001) A membership structure allows the members to select the board, whereas the board-only structure has a self-proclaimed board, which might or might not have members. As far as division of labor is concerned, regular meetings are held between the board and the members, in which people either volunteer for the various tasks, depending on the skills that they possess, or it is known beforehand that which aspect of a project will be managed by which member or board member. Usually, a board member is made the leader for various tasks. For instance, a board member can lead the marketing group, and have two to three members work under him. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE REAL WORK UNDERTAKEN AND THE JOB DESCRIPTIONS OF THE WORKERS There is quite a lot of difference between the real work undertaken and the job description of the workers. This is because community service is something which people engage in for the better good of the society. Setting boundaries in terms of job responsibilities in such a work environment becomes impossible, and people usually outperform themselves when it comes to their own tasks. They might do multi-tasking, that is taking up more than one role for a specific project. Since the organization is also short of resources, the continuous need for volunteers also puts more responsibility on the shoulder of the workers. The skills needed by unit managers are just like the managers of any other organization. From communication skills to motivating employees, from organizing resources to controlling their use, from leading the organization to ensuring that funds are arranged: a manager has to manage much for a single project. The management structure of a community service company is quite informal. (Evans, 2002) There is open-door policy, the hierarchical levels are present, but this does not mean that the members or the workers will not be valued. Since the structure is very liberating, it allows for the workers to express themselves. On an everyday practice, workers come up with creative ideas for further projects and ways in which the organization can achieve its dual bottom line. CURRENT ISSUES CREATING CHANGE Community service organizations are all about bringing change. They aim to bring about a better society. But then there can be certain external issues, taking place on the national level, which can affect these organizations. Tourism is one of them. The importance of tourism cannot be negated, and thus community service organizations should capitalize on such change in trends. Moreover, the influx of refugees in Australia is another change taking place, which can initiate the idea for a new community service organization. From environmental issues affecting Australia to the trade laws, such changes will affect the way these organizations will work, and in their uprising as well. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS CREATING CHANGE IN THE SOCIAL WELFARE FIELD Political and economic factors are external factors to a community service organization, over which they have no control, but there is a definite affect of these factors on the social welfare field. Political factors include the policies of the Government related to this industry, the tax laws, their views on trade, whereas economic factors encompass the interest rates prevailing, the exchange rate of the Australian dollar, and the inflation etc. (Evans, 2002) One of the recent government policies is that the Australian government is focusing on a National Cultural policy, in which the framework has been put to discussion, where they are aiming to set a proper distinguishably identifiable culture for Australia. This is being done with the aim of engaging the whole community, and thus SACS (social and community services) will be listened to. Their work will be highly valued in actually inculcating this change in culture within all Australian citizens. The government is also talking about the wide popularity of social networking websites like Facebook, and contemplating whether they might replace the websites of the Government itself. Will the government also have a profile page? This will impact the way in which SACS will interact with their target market, as well as do their marketing. Most current is the idea for bringing reforms in the administration in the Australian government. Changes in about four broad areas will be brought. There will be definite impact from this policy, and if it goes against the SACS, then they can use lobbying as a means of convincing the Government to hear out their voices and keep their interests in mind. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND EFFECTIVE CHANGE An organization needs to be proactive in accessing the change that can take place in the environment. Since change is the only thing which is constant. As far as the organizations in the SACS sector are concerned, they are informal, thus they are also flexible enough to mould themselves to adapt to any kind of changes that take place. From a change in the way the Government is viewing its marketing techniques, to the change in the definition of Australian culture, incorporating those changes in the organization would be its best practice.(Bennett, 1990). The management, policies and procedures will facilitate the political and economic changes which are taking place in Australia. When refugees will increase, a sudden project will allow for their facilitation, for instance. KEY MANAGEMENT ROLES IN EFFECTING CHANGE The manager has to play various roles if change is to take place. Some of them are: being the one to diagnose and develop goals which are clear to the workers, facilitate them through change process, be the designer of how the change will take place, also be the project manager of change, educate the workers about what is happening and why, market the change to the employees, inspire them about why the change is going to bring positive things, and monitor the way the change takes place. THE ROLE OF THE UNIT MANAGER IF CHANGE IS TO HAPPEN A change agent is someone who has to lead the change process, thereby taking the responsibility of balancing both the business issues as well as the people issues. Business issues are more related to the structural nature of the business and whatever operational changes are being incorporated in the company because of the change process. Whereas, people issues are more related to being human, to understanding the subordinates, to empathizing with the people who have to go through change and whose daily life will be significantly affected by it. So the major question in such a situation is about how leaders will strike this balance and attend to the people side of change without losing focus of the business side? The answer lies in “building trust through authenticity.” (Tearle, R.) When the trust has been developed, concentrating on both the business and the human elements gets easy, because the employees trust the management with whatever they are doing. To make sure that an environment of trust is created between the change agents and the employees going through change, it is essential that the change agent try to strike a balance between these two sides. KEY MANAGERIAL PROCESSES INVOLVED IN EFFECTING CHANGE Lewin's Change Model The step by step process of initiating and implementing a change within an organization needs to be understood if change has to be successfully brought in the organization. Lewin says that bringing an organization change is a three step process, namely 1. unfreezing, 2. changing and 3. refreezing. In the first step of unfreezing, participants have to be made to unlearn what they have learned up till now and things that they need to give up in order for the change process to be effective. Awareness has to be spread among the participants and they should be made to be willing to change. This can be done by giving financial information and showing the bad condition of the organization and pursuing everyone that if change does not take place, things will go even worse. Benchmarking can also be used at this stage by saying that this is where the best company lies and we need to reach here, for that we need to change. This step can also be called diagnosis of the change process.  The second step is changing, where new behaviour is taught to the participants. This can be done through various ways such as training, seminars, team building, mentors etc. they individuals have to learn the new skills, if any are required. This step can also be called the intervention stage.  The third step is refreezing where the change process is reinforced by rewarding the individuals for embracing the change process. By this stage, the individuals have adopted the new skills. This stage is also called reinforcement stage.   PROCESSES TO SUCCESSFULLY FACILITATE POSITIVE CHANGE The first process is about education and communication. It is about teaching individuals of acquiring the new skill that is needed to bring the change. Effective communication from the top management will be really essential here because people need to know that they have their support. (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2003) Then there should be participation and involvement where the participants of the change process are incorporated in the process from the start so that there is greater acceptance of it. The third process is facilitation and support where the top management provides all sorts of support, material or otherwise, to the participants of change so that they can be facilitated to pass through the change process with ease. And lastly, negotiation is done which ultimately leads to an agreement between the top management and the change participants. A common ground is tried to be found so that resistance of change is decreased to the maximum. CONCLUSION In conclusion, a social and community service in Australia is highly valued, thus adding to the varied amount of such organizations which has sprung up in the country. Their structures are based on delegation, individual creativity and lots of team work, which ultimately lead to the work force doing more than their share of the formal job description. There are many external factors which affect the working of such communities, but their flexible nature allows them to survive through the change, and continue with their mission. Change management is a tough process, which invites resistance from employees, but a good change agent can help to facilitate the process. BIBLIOGRAPHY Book National Library of Australia (1983) APAIS, Australian public affairs information service. National Library Australia National Library of Australia (1994) Australian national bibliography. National Library Australia. Dwyer, J. (2004) Project management in health and community services: getting good ideas to work. Routledge Australian Bureau of Statistics (2005) Yearbook, Australia, Issue 87. Aust. Bureau of Statistics. Grant, C. (1992) The Austalian health care system. School of Health Services Management, University of New South Wales Lyons, M. (2001) Third sector: the contribution of nonprofit and cooperative enterprise in Australia. Allen & Unwin. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2003) The non-profit sector in a changing economy. OECD Publishing. Evans, M. (2002) Australian economy and society, 2001: education, work and welfare. Federation Press. Bennett, R. (1990) Australian society and government. M.M. & B. Book Co. Website Aged and Community Services Australia. Policies and Positions. [Internet]. Available from < http://www.agedcare.org.au/POLICIES-&-POSITION/Policies-and-position-menu.html > [31st March 2010] Tearle, R. The Role of the Change Master – From Change Agent to Change Master. [Internet] Available at   [31st March 2010] Read More