Internal and External Factors Affecting Paulo Freire Charter School - Essay Example

? Internal and External Factors Affecting Paulo Freire Charter School Internal and External Factors Affecting Paulo Freire Charter School Environmental factors are dynamic in nature. They are not static, and organizations should strategically plan for their effects. In the competitive business environment, the need for effective and efficient environmental planning is crucial. SWOT analysis, an acronym that describes strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, wholly cover the strategic plan for any organization. Internal environmental factors affecting an organization’s performance include strengths and weaknesses. Externally, opportunities and threats influence an organizations’ performance among industry competitors. Inefficiency in the planning process is dangerous to the survival of an organization. Mistakes by the management while lying down the strategic plan management consequentially lead to failure and loss of business to competitors. In the extreme, an organization faces liquidation (Bo?hm, 2009). To achieve is purpose of “to develop a self-actualized scholar, who possesses a knowledgeable and discerning mind, thrives in service to others, and is prepared for college,” Paulo Freire Charter School must effectively manage its internal and external environments effectively and efficiently. Internal factors adequately affect the strengths and weaknesses of an organization. The management of any organization needs to plan for the purpose of hedging against any form of internal problems. Resources and human capital are essential elements in the internal factors management. Availability of raw materials, financial capital for investment and labour to work in the various departments are the internal factors affecting the performance of an organization. To achieve organizational goals, adequacy of resources is essential. Internal factors make both the organizational strengths and weaknesses. The liquidity position of any organization influences the success the organization is in implementation of its goals and objectives. Two essential types of financial capital for an organization include long term and short-term finances. While long term financing finances long term projects for the school, short-term finances cater for operational and miscellaneous expenses of the school. Long-term finances are essential in financing long-term operations of the school. Inadequate finances for an organization are its weakness, while adequate finances are its strength. Purchase of machinery, hiring of workers, and expansion of a classes and addition of courses offered by the school are the major uses of long-term funds in the school. Strategic budgeting process by an organization ensures proper allocation of resources according to the requirements of the organization. Poor budgeting of organizational funds potentially leads to financial problems to the school. Prioritizing needs with reference to the organizational needs and requirements will help the organization from getting into financial problems. Bo?hm (2009) points out that as strength, adequate finances greases the various wheels used by the management to achieve the school’s purpose. However, this could also form part of its weaknesses. Inadequate funds, misappropriation of the school’s income and poor liquidity position are a weakness that can lead to poor results, and thus the school losses business to its competitors. Human capital is responsible for the achievement of organizational goals and objectives (Bruce, 2006). To achieve its goal the school needs human resources, and these need care and profession in their handling. Investing in human resources of the organization increases the organization quality of services. At the same time, the organization achieves its goals, reaches its vision and lives up to its mission statement. Proper motivational strategies to the teachers increase their output. According to Frey (2002), there is more to motivation than offering good salaries to the employees. Although organizations put more emphasis on monetary motivation, experts argue money is one form of motivation. Fringe benefits provided to the employees for exemplary performance encourages them to work harder. Motivation results into good performance of the employees and increase in the organization output. Organizations that give priority to motivate their employees register exemplary performance in their overall performance record. Achieving their goals is an easy task, since a motivated workforce is dedicated towards serving their organization, subsequently achieving its goals and objectives. Moreover, motivation increases employee retention, minimizes the rate of exit and saves the organization money and time (Putzier & Baker, 2011). Paulo Freire Charter School’s biggest form of human capital is their teaching force. The school’s purpose is achievable through dedicated, devoted and willing to work workforce. Different methods are available for the management to achieve these results. Some of these motivational methods include organizing proper payment packages for the teachers, organizing retreats, giving them paid leaves as well as rewarding them according to their performance is a way in which these employees could be motivated. On the contrary, however, the same strength forms its weaknesses. Lack of teachers’ motivation leads to poor performance of the school, and students are likely to shift into other schools that have a high performance level. External environment creates an organization’s threats and opportunities that are risky and at the same time rewarding (Henry, 2008). The management has no control over this environment and can only strategize itself to hedge against any likely in eventuality that may come. Threats come from forces beyond the organization’s capability, and those that it has no control over. The management has no capacity to control its competitors or influence nature. These are the most likely sources of threats affecting the school. The business environment is changing radically and with a lot of speed. The dynamic nature of doing business and the high levels of competition has revolutionized the nature of doing business. Since the management of the school cannot influence the decisions taken by the customers, it can only hedge itself in the industry by matching up to its competitors’ standards. Schools have different types of amenities such as games, sports and other facilities that seek to nurture and develop talents of their students. In addition to this, how teachers handle students is essential in determining whether parents will take their students to the school or not. Moreover, the ratio of teachers to students determines the attention given to a student by a teacher. These are the most important factors, which the management of Paulo Freire Charter School should put into consideration when trying to beat their competitors. Striving to be the first in among other private schools in the region is the only way in which the school pursue to remain ahead of their competition. Market to a school is the availability of students to teach. While there is no possibility of the organization influencing the number of children born in a locality, internally, it can affect the number of children who visit its classes. Every competitor invests substantially in the services offered to its students. This is the only way in which the organization can remain ahead of its competitors and hedge against the natural factors it has no control over. Technological development for all industries is dynamic. Every now and then, new forms of technology are developed and innovated. Investing in technology leads to good results and high quality of goods and services offered by organizations to its customers. Bo?hm (2009) observes that most of the service providers are keen on investing in the best forms of technology available in the market. As part of the technology, which the school can adopt, online classes and online submission of exams creates the best opportunity. Availing learning materials to the students online as well as digitizing its library makes the learning process interesting and more fun. Expanding to the number of faculties provided by the school to its students increases the number of students in its classes. The school cannot ignore this opportunity in its expansion plan. Effects of the Organizational Structure of the School to Its Performance Organizational structure has a huge influence in the performance of an organization. Rigid organizational structures lead to poor performance while flexible structures lead to high organizational performance. Rigidity in the organizational structure offers the organization no opportunity to expand in its managerial roles and functions. On the contrary, flexible structures allow managers to shift in their managerial roles and functions whenever need arises. Bureaucracy, another form of organizational structure affects the ability of the performance of the organization in different ways. Too much bureaucracy affects an organization’s decision-making process, which subsequently leads to poor performance. The school does not suffer either. Flexibility of its structure allows the management to alter frequently to meet the requirements of the situation. For instance, an administrator could handle the job a secretary, while a secretary could handle tasks of a clerk. The school’s organizational structure is flat, which cancels out all the levels in the chain of command. These influence the decision making process of the company, taking care of all the hurdles, thus improving the performance of the school. References Bo?hm, A. (2009). The SWOT Analysis. Mu?nchen: GRIN Verlag. Bruce, A. (2006). How to motivate every employee: 24 proven tactics to spark productivity in the workplace. New York: McGraw-Hill. Frey, B. S. (2002). Successful management by motivation: Balancing intrinsic and extrinsic incentives : with 11 tables. Berlin [u.a.: Springer. Henry, A. (2008). Understanding strategic management. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Putzier, J., & Baker, D. J. (2011). The everything HR kit: A complete guide to attracting, retaining & motivating high-performance employees. New York: American Management Association. Read More