Woodlands Community Center Corporation Case Analysis Essay Example for Free

Woodlands Community Center Corporation Case Analysis Essay The Woodland Community Center Cooperation (WCCC) had been established in 1926 by a social worker who thought that Woodland, an East Coast seaport town, would benefit from a variety of social and human services. Alain Yates, the longest serving executive director, was a long standing icon in the organization for many years, and due to a mixture of longevity and assertion, had shaped the organizational culture of the agency during his time of leadership. He had established a culture that didn’t necessarily reward what would be considered the â€Å"norm†; such has hard work and excellence. Instead he rewarded seniority and loyalty to the organization, and above all, loyalty to him. Employees advanced through becoming Yates’ â€Å"pet† employees, and received perks such as parking and expensive trips to out of state conferences. This preferential behavior created a rift within the organization and its employees. If people complained, then they were slowly trickled out by Yates, and replaced by more loyal employees. After 25 years of service, Yates retired, and while naming his suggestion for a successor, the board quickly and surprisingly undermined his influence and hired Fred Chambers. Fred was a man of substance and experience, and they needed someone to come in and not only change he organizational culture, but improve it. Fred’s wife had advised against taking this appointment, yet Fred took on the challenge, and in this case analysis we meet Fred just as he is beginning to take in the breadth of this challenge. Organization culture at Woodland Community Center Corporation was based on the values imposed by Yates. He believed that â€Å"seniority was sacrosanct, and neither creativity nor hard work replaced it† (McShane 539). This created a dominant organizational culture that believed that loyalty to Alan Yates was all that mattered, considering that the employees enjoyed a secure work environment as few employees ere fired for poor work ethic. â€Å"The key to employee survival and its attendant rewards was loyalty, not competency. Furthermore, loyalty was the sole way to advance in the agency or to receive pay increases for the agency’s over 100 employees† (McShane 539). As Yates continued his tenure, the organization was becoming more incestuous and a breeding ground for a groupthink mentality. â€Å"the agency had one characteristic in common: they swore undying loyalty to Yates† (McShane 539). Although Yates dominated the organizational culture with his own values, there was still a certain subculture that opposed him. The employees who were not impressed by Yates created the counterculture considering that they directly opposed the dominant values in the organization. They tried to maintain the organization’s standards of performance and ethical behavior as one employee stated â€Å"we are committed to working for the betterment of the agency and its clients, and we will stay despite Yates preferential treatment of pet employees† (McShane 539). They tried to maintain the values that kept the firm aligned with the needs of the society and other stakeholders. The subculture opposed to Yates could have been helpful in changing the dominant culture upon his retirement, but the executive director was able to suppress it over time. Employees that were part of the subculture began to retire of slowly trickle out because they could not longer tolerate â€Å"employment injustices† (McShane 540). Each employee that left would then be replaced by a loyal Yates supporter, which made in the more difficult for the New Executive Director Fred Chambers to change contaminated culture. In reading about organizational cultures, our text places images of strong, adaptive cultures. Cultures where the employees strive to improve customer focus and carry on long standing traditions that have carried the success of the companies. However, in this week’s case study, we find a great example of what a weak organizational structure is. Alan Yates has instilled a weak organizational culture during his tenure at WCCC. While at WCCC Alan Yates has allowed an organization culture that has slide away from customer services and has not become adaptive. The organizational culture has become one were loyalty and servitude has more value than ability and knowledge. â€Å"The key to employee survival and its attendant rewards was loyalty, not competency† (McShane 539). From this quote, it is clear to see that Alan Yates has created a culture of â€Å"yes† people, loyal to him and unable to correctly serve their client base. Furthermore, the organizational culture is being eroded as â€Å"adaptive† employees leave the company (McShane 467). As stated before, the organizational culture is further weakened by Mr. Yates as more experienced and â€Å"adaptive† employees are alienated and replaced by â€Å"in-crowd† employees. As the experienced employees leave, they erode the company by taking away many of the â€Å"rituals, legends and ceremonies† of the company (McShane 464). As the more experienced employees leave the company, many of the rituals, legends and ceremonies that had made WCCC successful will be lost, as they will be lost in the transition to new employees. The text also describes the three important functions of a strong culture, â€Å"Control system, Social glue and Sense making† (McShane 466). Again, it is interesting to see how a weak organizational culture works. Looking at WCCC’s control system with Mr. Yates, it is evident that a â€Å"deeply embedded form of social control that influences employee decisions and behavior† is present in the company (McShane 466). The only problem is the control system is too strong and influential. An example from the case study cites â€Å"Both, regardless of how they arrived at the agency, had one characteristic in common: They swore loyalty to Yates† (McShane 540). As more employees became loyal to Yates, the control system became to strong. The weakest part of the culture is tied to the â€Å"social glue† (McShane 466). â€Å"Organizational culture is the â€Å"social glue† that bonds people together and makes them feel part of the organizational experience† (McShane 466). The case study talks of a â€Å"growing rift† among employees that are loyal or not to Yates (McShane 539). The organizational culture suffers from a split in the employees as more experienced employees feel left out by Yates. This effectively shows a lack of â€Å"social glue† within the organizational culture of WCCC. Overall, it is easy to see that the organizational culture during Mr. Yates tenure has been significantly decreased at WCCC. The company lacks any â€Å"social glue† that could improve employee moral and it further harmed by the overbearing control of Mr. Yates. During his 25 year stay at WCCC, Mr. Yates has turned the organizational culture to nothing more than a â€Å"yes† culture. Fred Chambers is well aware how much organizational change is needed at the Woodland Community Center Corporation. There are both driving and restraining forces for change found in this case which will make Fred Chambers’ new position of executive director a difficult one. It is his goal to effectively manage these forces in order to successfully point the Woodland Community Center Corporation into a new direction. Alain Yates left a divided and unhappy workforce for Fred Chambers to fix. â€Å"Yates had encouraged policies of â€Å"double standards† that de-motivated some long-term and industrious agency employees. (McShane 532) Yates had his favorite employees and those who were within his inner circle. Certain people had reserved parking spots, whereas others had to park far away and take the long walk to the building from their car in inclement weather. Others were not allowed to go to training sessions to further their knowledge while they stood buy and watched certain employees go to expensive out of state conferences. â€Å"Yates’s actions resulted in a small but noticeable agency fissure that led to a growing rift between employees who sought to excel and those who just got by on their loyalty. ( McShane 532) Employees wanted to be rewarded for their work ethic and not their loyalty. People would no longer go the extra mile if they weren’t in Yates’s inner circle. This is a definite driving force for change. Fair and equal treatment needs to be implemented throughout the corporation. Despite all of the negative practices that Alain Yates implemented, those employees who were not treated fairly did not leave WCCC. They were paid very well and had a drive to help the clients that the agency worked with. Eventually, most of these employees left and were replaced by loyal supporters of Yates. Chambers needs to drive home that sense of loyalty to Woodland Community Center Corporation’s clients to those employees who remained despite not being in Yates’s inner circle. These employees need to still be competitively paid and reassured that their work will be appreciated. On the other hand, most of the employees of WCCC are loyal to Alain Yates and Fred Chambers will have an up road battle to convince the supporters of Yates that he will do a great job. Fred Chambers will most likely face many restraining forces for change. In some situations employees may be worried about the consequences of change, such as how the new conditions will take away their power and status. In other situations, employees show resistance because of concerns about the process of change itself, such as the effort required to break old habits and learn new skills. †(McShane 490) Fred Chambers needs to set a standard of equality. Yates’s inner circle no longer exists, and these employees need to know that they have to step up to the challenge and prove themselves. One resistance to change is the fear of the unknown. Employees do not know what is in stored for them. People resist change out of worry that they cannot adjust to the new work requirements. †(McShane 491) Workers might not have performed up to their potential because they were favored by Yates. Another resistance to change is when a routine is broken. â€Å"This means employees need to abandon behavioral routines that are no longer appropriate. †(McShane 491) Employees will not be used to the style of Fred Chambers. He most likely wants to do things differently, and they will have to adjust accordingly. Fred Chambers needs to approach organizational change from an evolutionary perspective. Alain Yates had run the WCCC for twenty five years. Many of the employees had been there for a long time and have been accustomed to his leadership style. Fred Chambers needs to implement certain changes right away, but at the same time, one does not want to rock the boat too much. He must create a more equal and level playing field for all employees. Chambers must gain the trust of all his workers and prove to them that he is dedicated to them, the organization, and most importantly, the company’s clients. By being too aggressive in his actions, Chambers will not give off a good impression and turn a lot of people off. He needs to use tact and apply his experiences to his new position. Over the next year or two, employees will realize that they are valued by the work they do and not by the personal connections they may have. Fred Chambers is required to make a lot of changes, and to convince a staff who has been conditioned to be loyal to a man who is no longer at the helm of the ship. Additionally, it seems that decisions had been made that weren’t pro-business, only pro-Yates. These will need to be reversed, which will naturally result in push back from the employees who had had these perks-who wants to give up a good parking spot? We believe that change really needs to begin at the bottom with the employees. First, Chambers should hold a meeting, outlining some initial changes within the organization, as well as explaining what in the world would make the board make such decisions. Providing some transparency at the top would help build some trust from employees. It would be important to not dwell on the past, but to focus on the future. He should talk about how important it is that people focus on the increased productivity and services of the organization, as opposed to the past which was riddled with preferential treatment and poor business decisions. The opportunities here far outweigh negativity brought by employees entrenched in the previous culture. This is an opportunity to have the employees really concentrate and recommit to the mission and vision of the organization. Perhaps he could do a workshop outlining goals, and the mission/vision of the organization. The future of the organizations fiscal and organizational health lies in Fred’s ability to gain the trust of the employees and then steer them towards good work product output, expectations of advancement when warranted through good work, and perhaps some leaner times financially, if there need to be lay offs. Fred needs to make the employees feel as though they belong to an organization who works well together. Create a sense of belonging. This is how Yates succeeded in turning the culture in his way, and it won’t be too difficult to do the same. Chambers also has a leg up when it comes to cost cutting. He will be able to outline to the entire organization that expenses such as trips, far away conferences and training will not be available to anyone, regardless of the reason or connection. This will allow people to see that Chambers will not play favorites, which has been an issue of concern in the past. It also tells the employees that there are financial concerns, and they should be cognizant of where they spend money. While there will be some initial push back, Chambers can and we believe will succeed. He has experience in running non profits; he is a seasoned professional in dealing with non-profit staff. Chambers should approach this challenge with the belief that what one poor leader had done can be undone by a strong leader with a good understanding of the culture, the people, and a strong commitment to the success of the organization.

US Immigration Policy :: Immigrants Politics

US Immigration Policy The United State’s immigration policy has undergone great change since the turn of the 20th century. Many things have contributed to this change, such as political problems, poverty, lack of jobs, and in fact our changing policy. The countries affected by these problems may have changed but the problems themselves have not. No matter what the location or time period, people have been driven from their homeland as result of political disputes. There will always be poor, 3rd world countries that can not create a prosperous environment for their people. As a result of general poverty, few jobs are available, which forces citizens to look beyond the borders for work. Our changing immigration policy is motivation for some immigrants to come to America. If the U.S. is accepting a high number of one country’s immigrants, than many of their citizens will emigrate for America, some legally and others illegally. The United State’s has changed its immigration policy many times in the last 100 years but the reasons for resettlement have remained generally the same. The early 1900s was a period of mass immigration for the United States. At the turn of the 20th century religious preferences and political persecution were major reasons behind immigration. Many Jews came to America in search of freedom. People of other religious backgrounds also came because the United States was composed of a diverse group of people with different religious preferences. The immigrants did not feel like outcasts in America. Political persecution in Russia forced many of its citizens to emigrate. Most chose to come to America because the country was culturally diverse and they could feel safe there. Economic problems at this time also drove people to America. Many countries around the world were just starting to develop so they were poor and lacked jobs. Their citizens were in desperate need of money; so many fathers immigrated to America in search of a job to support their family with. This was a common occurrence among Asian immigrants. Only later did t heir families join them through new laws and quotas in the United States immigration policy. However, this soon led to an enormous number of immigrants so the policy was revised to lower quotas and accept more skilled people and less family members.

Medical Ethics Essay

Medical interventions always possess two possible outcomes in every situation or case. The principle of double effect is the actual ethics that governs the conditions of alternatives. The main concept that it utilizes is the thought that persons are faced with decision that cannot be avoided and, in the circumstances, the decision will cause both desirable and undesirable effects. Considering the value ethics involved in every intervention implemented, the risk factors should always be considered. Essentially speaking, the principle of double effect involves the critical assessment of the situation considering the fact that the choices being made greatly impact a life of an individual. In an ethical controversy of maternal-fetal conditions wherein the mother is suffering from a case of complications that lead to the severe necessity of evacuating the conception product. The case possesses no other alternatives, and has greatly compromised both life conditions of the mother and the fetus. Moreover, if medical intervention is not implemented as soon as possible both lives shall be endangered severely. In some part of logical implication, some might categorize such action as direct attempt of killing; essentially since, either of the mother’s life or the fetal life needs to be sacrificed in order to save one. In such case of saving life through resuscitation, if the significant relatives or others imposed the negation of such life saving treatment for the patient provided with the considerations of higher good than evil, it is not considered anymore as actions of euthanasia nor direct killing. The medical provider is not anymore liable if incase the patient suffered from any untoward conditions that requires resuscitation, however in the end resulted to death, as it is already a directed will of the patient and the support groups. The principle of total effect protects no singular parts or single levels of life. In fact, it does even consider the whole or total person as a whole. The whole or total person is what is sacred and has rights. To promote parts or lower levels independently of the person’s totality would violate just the quality of life considerations. The medical provider should consider the treatment interventions not only for the benefit of a single part, but rather every aspect of the whole body, such as the effect of the therapy or medical intervention on other parts of the body. Psychotherapy involves the utmost obligation to facilitate the psychological health and well-being of the society. As far as medico-ethics is concerned, psychiatrists possess such responsibility of conjuring psychological health to the people. Such principle involves the concept of the divine as well as the societal requirement of psychological health linked together with the guidelines of psychotherapeutical interventions. Such principle considers man as a psychic unit and total aspect of a person as a whole. Considering the fact that man functions as a whole, psychiatric therapy should revolve in every aspect of a person not only on particularities of disease, disorder, or signs and symptoms but rather as a whole unified being. However, still in response to this perspective, the concept of the individual should still deal in the specifics and objective details of an individual. The guide protocols of this principle are the fact that man is a unified unit of the community that requires social interactions, and morality considerations over the psychological interventions. Rights to Health Care The general principle of health care greatly considers that every individual possesses the right to have unconditional, indiscriminate, and with no considerations on an individual’s society. The rights of health care, by law, divine protocols and natural necessities, should be ethically available for every individual. As for the ever conjuring issues in terms of impairment of the delivery of health care, it is both the responsibility of the patient and the health care provider to facilitate maximum health care potential. The health seeking behavior is expected for the patients requiring health care needs as their responsibility, while health care information dissemination, motivation and encouragement are the ethical duties of the health care providers. With the advent of managerial, profit-oriented and progressive modernization, the principle of the health care basic right is arguably being violated in some sense. As the fact states, at least 35 million Americans cannot afford proper health care delivery system for them due to either expensive medical insurance requirements or poverty. As for the both interacting requirement, most of the public, especially those living in or below poverty line, undeniably obtains their medical care from governmental provisions, which are not always sufficient to consider every individual’s health care needs. In fact, Medicaid insurance, which is a public insurance firm that caters mostly for the financially incapacitated individuals, is extensively and progressively increasing. However, the worst case of such Medicaid provision is that sickness status possesses a marginal requirement to consider a person a candidate for health care treatment. In such case, the health care status of these individuals worsens before they can even attain their due medical interventions. Another controversy is the rising patients of Medicare insurance, which is a public governmental firm that caters to elderly health care welfare. Due to the increasing number of those that cannot afford geriatric care necessities, the last option for these elders is to obtain the care that the government hospitals provide. However, there are cases wherein these elderly incapacitated individuals are being eagerly discharged by the hospital. Adding on to the situation is the increasing profit-oriented hospital firms, which perceives delivery of care as business-money-earning sources. Such condition is beginning to coincide and dominate the health care market, which if not regulated, may even caused further decline of health care obtainment by the public due to financial incongruencies. Considering that the incidence of poverty in the public is increasing, incapabilities of health care insurance to support the appropriate and adequate requirements of their beneficiaries, and the increasing incidence of profit oriented hospitals, greatly contributes to the health care scarcity and health care status of the society. Essentially speaking, such condition possesses the possibility of aggravating the morbidity and mortality ratings in the society. Such case is considered indeed as violations of the ethical principle of right of health care. On the contrary, such protocols are necessary in order to keep the hospital and medical insurance organizations surviving. Although, the evident consequence of such scenario is the increasing individuals suffering from health care impairments. As far as the ethical principle, rights of health care, is concerned, such occurring scenario violates the fundamental ethics of health care. Suffering Even with subjective evidences or manifestations, the concept of suffering seems central for the most fundamental concerns of bioethics. Suffering is in part constituted by the experience of a profound evil, as the Old Testament denotes, or threat to our sense of self and identity that we are unable to control. IT is the experience of the inexplicably arbitrary and typically destructive. Suffering is not of course an end of religious experience but a problem demanding interpretation. Religions traditions have historically tried to give meaning to suffering by placing the experience in a context of broader questions about ultimate purpose in life, and even human destiny beyond life. Suffering is knowledge of evil but is not evil in itself. Frequently its existence serves as a helpful spiritual or physical warning that something is amiss. Physical pain is often first sign of a serious illness; it informs us that something has gone wrong and that we need medical assistance. Of course, sometimes we become aware of evil but are unable to do anything about the situation. The evil is not in our knowledge of a certain state of affairs but in the state of affairs themselves. While we experience our knowledge of these evils as suffering, the knowledge itself remains a basic good. As salvation denotes liberation from evil, Christ liberates man from sin by means of His cross, that is, by means of suffering. The work of salvation is a labor of suffering. Every person is called to participate personally in that suffering through which our redemption has been accomplished and through which all suffering was redeemed. Suffering, symbolizes by the Cross, is the one universal door through which all must pass to enter the kingdom of God. While on the human level suffering is an â€Å"emptying,† on the divine level it is a glorifying or a â€Å"filling up† and an invitation to manifest the moral greatness of man. The glory of suffering cannot be seen in the martyrs, but also in those who, while not believing in Christ, suffer and give their lives for the truth. As for a Christian perspective, suffering is an opportunity for everyone to experience the power of God and share in the work of redemption. In the midst of each individual’s suffering, Christ is present to share that person’s suffering-just as He invites each of us to share His sufferings. This inter-participation of suffering unites our sufferings and Christ’s sufferings, as well as uniting us with Christ personally. In terms of the medical ethics application, suffering is for both patient and the health care provider to share; however, one must not join each one and extend the same negative feelings but rather, facilitate as the motivator and alleviator of sufferings. The greatest part of relieving the patient from the occurring suffering is on the part of the health care provider, as they are the ones who are responsible for the alleviation of such condition. The suffering of undergoing the case of alleviation and the suffering of alleviating the patient itself are the two considered faces of suffering, which has to be considered in every ethical case action. In is indeed necessary to think that the difficulties imposed by the situation is carried by both interacting parties and not one alone.

Uncovering the Truth in Shakespeares King Lear Essay

Uncovering the Truth in King Lear Only through the loss of our possessions and worldly connections can one truly realize ones inner being (Confucius). The true nature of man is known but is not commonly seen until adversity strikes. Characters reveal their true nature when they are reduced to nothing. In the play, King Lear, by William Shakespeare, there are three main themes that characters can be reduced by; social status, love and power. Through these three mediums the true nature of the works characters are exposed, by stripping away the innuendo, deceit and superficiality that initially cloaks each character. In the beginning of the play, Cordelia, Gloucester and King Lear all suffer a loss of power,†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, King Lear suffers a loss of power which causes him to reveal his true nature when his powers as King and as a father are departed and he is able to see the innocence behind his daughter, Cordelias, love for him. He is reunited with Cordelia and instantly compelled to beg for her forgiveness: We two alone will sing like birds i the cage./ When thou dost ask me blessing, Ill kneel down/ And ask of thee forgiveness. So well live,/ And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh... (5.3.9-12). This is unveils King Lears truly humble and loving nature. In summary, because Cordelia, Gloucester and King Lear all suffer a loss of power in the play, their true natures are ultimately revealed. What is more, the loss of love and relationships by Cordelia, Edgar and Lear is evident in the play and leads to the unmasking of the characters true natures. Edgar sees the necessity for love and relationships in ones life to sustain a state of common sense when he loses the love of his family and friends. After it is believed that there is a plot against Lears life, Edgar reflects on the situation, When we our betters see bearing our woes,/ We scarcely think our miseries our foes./ Who alone suffers most i the mind,/ Leaving free things and happy shows behind...Show MoreRelatedThe Greatest Pieces Of English Literature972 Words   |  4 Pagesanti-stratfordians who propose theories of who could be the real author, this once small talk has turn into a well- known conspiracy theory, although little to none evidence is all we have on a man named William Shakespeare, the possibility of determining the truth behind this is more likely impossible to find out, his work is a great p iece of English literature that will stay as â€Å"his† work until further and stronger evidence says otherwise. The fact of the matter is, William Shakespeare is the true author, asRead More A Darker Side of Our Soul Exposed in Hamlet Essay1477 Words   |  6 Pagespurvey a shocking type of tawdry news. These sources of scandal make a lucrative business out of outrageous headlines. But this is nothing new.   Mankind has always had burning desire for uncovering secret truths--even in the time of Shakespeare.   For as Polonius said, If circumstances lead me, I will find/Where truth is hid, though it were hid indeed/Within the center (2.2.158-60).   The implication is that we are somehow better off in knowing the furtive facts.      But are we better off inRead MoreHamlet : A Tragic Comedy1828 Words   |  8 Pageshas recently been performing in Shakespeare’s past disaster, Julius Caesar, yet there is additionally a reckoning of the genuine stabbing of Polonius by Hamlet. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who are utilized by Claudius to discover the genuine reason for Hamlet s transformation, evident in Act II Scene II: â€Å"Whether aught to us unknown afflicts him† (Meyer, pg 1630), and to enliven him, show up as indistinguishable twins who are never seen independently: King: Thanks Rosencrantz, and gentle GuildensternRead MoreExistentialism : What s It All About And Who Cares?3875 Words   |  16 PagesExistential themes are explored in the films of director Bernardo Bertolucci (such as â€Å"Before the Revolution† of 1964); and psychiatrist R D Laing (1927 – 1989) defines psychosis and schizophrenia in Existential terms. Shakespeare’s (1564 – 1616) drama (particularly in â€Å"Hamlet† and â€Å"King Lear,† for instance), is profoundly Existential. The nature of Existentialism: In this introduction we’ll consider the â€Å"mainstream† Existentialism espoused in particular by Sartre. This is categorized as â€Å"anti-idealist†