Answers to Questions About Rio Grande Valley, South Texas - Essay Example

Answers to Questions About Rio Grande Valley, South Texas 2) The Cultural Aspects of an Effective Organization Recognized in the Rio Grande Valley Some of the cultural aspects of an effective organization recognized in the Rio Grande Valley include autonomy, innovation, skill development, trust, and open lines of communication. The different types of organization cultures in Rio Grande Valley make it close to an ideal culture, which has the capacity of maximizing its potential for success. The community in Rio Grande Valley provides a conducive environment for service providers to develop organizational interventions. Despite a history of an economically challenging economy, Rio Grande Valley is evolving into a thriving municipal center that is at the core of the international trade. As such, the community is not only implementing a broad range of technologies and innovations, but also working closely with human service agencies to rehabilitate dilapidated areas of the economy. Some of the organizational interventions they are working with are related to mental health, juvenile justice, child welfare, homeless population ad education among others. The success of these practices are based on the organization culture and the extent of established trust, open lines of communication and skill development. The success of this community is evolving from a rural, impoverished region to an economically viable urban area is dependent on service availability, continuity, and responsiveness; positive therapeutic relationships; adherence to protocols; and adoption of efficacies treatment. The community is committed to ensuring that services such as housing, health, education and water resources that are limited in the region can keep pace with the growth in the region through continued economic diversification. (1.3) Description of the Essential Elements to Develop Staff and Volunteers in an Organization I would describe one of the most essential elements of developing staff and volunteers in an organization to be motivation. This notion is echoed by the People In Aid, in their recent research. The research reiterated that the essential elements to develop staff and volunteers are motivation, performance management, the level of engagement and retention rate. Employee motivation is an important factor especially in the not-for –profit organizations. Some of the ways in which such organizations attract and retain their talented staff and volunteers is through positive reinforcement, organizational restricting, setting goals and targets, satisfying employees and volunteers needs, ensuring fair treatment in the workplace and ensuring effective discipline. Organizations must focus on rational, individual thought as the basic ground for human behavior. When the employees and volunteers in an organization are highly motivated, they have a high willingness to accept risks on behalf of the organization and are mostly concerned about the performance of the organization, thereby playing a huge role in the achievement of the organization’s goals and objectives. Irrespective of the size, mission, extent of operation or affiliation of an organization, motivation is of great concern when it comes to attracting and retaining staff and volunteers. Some of the most successful organizations motivate their employees through a healthy working environment, information sharing, fluid internal communication, streamlined recruitment process and a friendly management style. (1.4) The Types of Partnerships that are Essential to Agency Success (Human Service Agencies) in the Rio Grande Valley. Partnerships are key aspects to agency success in relation to community-based nonprofit service organizations. This is because partnerships contribute toward empowerment of people for economic and social change. Different types of partnerships essential to agency success include cross-sector partnerships, partnerships between recipients and donors, collaboration, strategic alliance, and integration. Cross-sector partnerships involve various organizations from diverse fields such as government, academic and non-profits. Although the formation of these type of partnership can be challenging, it is a major strength to the community since the different organizations can find a common ground where they can all contribute towards the empowerment of the people of Rio Grande Valley. Partnerships between recipients and donors are also important to agency success in the Rio Grande Valley. Both the donors and the people in Rio Grande Valley can identify a common ground where both of them can benefit from the partnership. Some of the ways the local population can contribute towards the partnership is through on-site workers and local expertise while the donors provide funds for development. When it comes to collaboration, the partnership formed has no permanent commitment, and the partners have greater autonomy. An example is organization partnerships that engage each other in community empowerment through coordinating efforts and sharing information. In this case, the people of Rio Grande Valley can collaborate with human services agencies for purposes of alleviating particular aspects such as water resources. The partnership extends up to the point in time when they find a solution to the target problem. A strategic alliance is another form of partnership that can benefit the people of Rio Grande Valley and be successful for the concerned agency. In this case, the decision-making power is shared or transferred between the partners. These partners come together to fulfill one or more functions such as a program-related or administrative programs. (1.3) The Characteristics of Landscape that are Relevant in Rio Grande Valley (South Texas) Natural landmarks are an essential aspect of community development. Contrary to popular belief, Rio Grande Valley is not exactly a valley, but a relatively flat floodplain or delta in the Gulf Coast geographic region of South Texas. The region is popularly known as the “Magic Valley” due to natural beauty of its unclaimed land. Many landmarks in the region serve as tourist attraction sites. Some of the landscapes that are a popular tourist destination are endowed with wildlife including Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, and Port Isabel Lighthouse. Valley’s landscape offers several famous waypoints for tourists who are traveling across Mexico. Some of these popular landscapes include Reynosa, Río Bravo, Nuevo Progreso, and Matamoros. The Valley also attracts many tourists from Mexico due to the citrus orchards, exotic birds, and warm weather. During the winter months, many people from Canada and Northern United States frequent the Valley due to its exquisite natural landscape and warm weather. The Valley is also famous for the sandy beaches which attract many sports fishermen and beach lovers including Port Mansfield, Port Isabel, and South Padre Island on the Gulf Coast. The region has a wide variety of exotic birds where bird watchers love to visit and tour in different parts throughout the region. Moreover, the Valley is endowed with a rich collection of landscapes that serve as places of historical interest including Fort Brown, La Lomita Historic District, El Sal del Rey, First Lift Station at Chimney Park, Rancho de Carricitos, Resaca de la Palma and Brownsville Raid among many others. All these natural landscapes can be used effectively and incorporated in the community development practices. (1.4) Comparison/Contrast Technical Assistance, Self Help, and Interactional Approach in Rio Grande Valley (South Texas) The three concepts are essential in community development and empowerment since they all have an objective of benefiting the community. However, they take different approaches to promoting community development. The technical assistance approach can be used in community development of Rio Grande Valley where more focus is on the technical know-how and planning in the process of bringing change to the community. However, the local people are not core to the development process. On the other hand, the self-help approach can be used in Rio Grande Valley with more emphasis on the need for collaborative efforts where people work together for address their problems. Unlike the technical assistance approach, this approach stresses the need for people in a community to be involved in a project together until its successful completion. Such collaborative efforts are preferred in this approach as they are believed to create conductive environments that prompt people to work together on future projects. Finally, the interactional approach can be employed in community development of this region where the people of the Valley are actively involved in the development of their community for improvement of their conditions. This approach is also very important as it ensures sustainability of the changes implemented in the region as the local people are equipped with the skills and expertise to address their own needs. (1.5) Conflict and Action Research in Community Development for Rio Grande Valley (South Texas) The conflict approach and action research are two major perspectives that are key to community development for Rio Grande Valley. The conflict approach can be applied in the Valley as it addresses the needs of the community by examining the distribution of the benefits in the region. This approach is also effective in explores the power structure among the different groups within the community. This approach is necessary in community development of the Valley as it prevents the elites involved in the development process to develop the region at the expense of the poor and the economically challenged people of the Valley. As such, the Valley needs the application of this approach so that the oppressed, weaker population does not get subdued by the dominant power structure. On the other hand, the Valley can benefit a lot from action research where organizations, residents and the developers pay close attention to an evidence-based approach to their work. Of more importance to the Valley is the participatory approach that focuses on members of the community getting directly involved in the responsibility of change, ownership, and leadership of the community. (1.6) How to Use Leadership Behaviors and Principles of Working Together in Rio Grande Valley (South Texas) Leadership behaviors and principles of working together can effectively be implemented in community development in Rio Grande Valley. Leadership behaviors can be developed by understanding the leadership power structures and the interconnectedness of the local leaders. Community developers should understand the leader’s interpersonal networks. To achieve a better understanding and consequently implement leadership behaviors in the valley, the agencies must identify the top tier of the leaders in the Valley and recognize the network connections among them. Principles of working together relate to the relationships formed during the process of community development for purposes of addressing the needs of the people in the Valley. The relationships between the local people and different stakeholders involved in the development process play a huge role in supporting the development initiatives. Working together is an inherently social aspect that is necessary in the process of bringing change to the region. The expertise of the people involved is not enough if people are not willing and able to share information and knowledge as well as work together to ensure realization of change. References Jerry Robinson,J., (2010). Introduction to Community Development: Theory, Practice, and Service-Learning. SAGE Publications, Inc. Rino J. P. (2008). The Handbook of Human Service Management. SAGE Publications, Inc; 2nd edition. Read More