Organization Admin. and Human Services Competency Building Activities Chapter 1-

Organization Admin. and Human Services
Competency Building Activities
Chapter 1-6 Textbook Information: Corey, M.S., & Corey, G. (2016). Becoming a Helper 8th Ed. Cengage, Boston MA ISBN-10: 0-357-36631-X, ISBN-13: 978-0-357-36631-8
Begin the process of creating your own hypothetical human service program. As you think about a program that you would want to develop, address the following questions:
1. What kind of need might your program address? Would you be focusing on a particular population or a particular issue or problem? The focus would be on preparing for your future. Identify the population or issue you plan to
address.
2. As you consider your program, think about what the central mission of this program
would be. Write a very brief statement about this central mission.
3. Give your program a name. Choose a program about which you feel a sense of passion. You will be coming back to your hypothetical program after each chapter so that you can apply what you have learned.
Competency Building Activity 2: Knowing the Environment
At the close of Chapter 1, you began the process of developing your own hypothetical program.
You began to consider your dreams for this program. You thought about the difference you
could make in the lives of a particular population. You gave your program a name. Now it is
time to consider the environment within which your program will exist:
1. What are the political, economic, social, and technological factors that would be most
likely to affect the clients you will serve? (Make a brief list of these factors).
2. How might you go about assessing the needs and the strengths of your program’s
community?
3. What factors of culture and diversity would have the greatest effect on your clients and
your program?
All questions are located at the end of each chapter in your text.
Competency Based Activity 3: Planning
After reading Chapter 1, you began the process of creating your own hypothetical human service
program. You have now considered the impact of environmental factors as well. Now that you
have a greater understanding of planning and program design, you are ready to answer the
following questions:
1. What are the mission and primary goals for this program?
2. Give some examples of specific, measurable objectives that would help meet one of the
goals you have identified.
3. What are some activities or services that would be helpful in meeting the objectives?
Competency Building Activity 4: Organizational Theories
Chapter 4 discussed several approaches to organizational design, including (a) classical,
bureaucratic theories; (b) human resources approaches; (c) contingency theories; (d) open
systems theory; and (d) empowerment-oriented theories.
1. Do you find some of these theories more helpful than others? Which ones are most
helpful?
2. What theories do you see being used, explicitly or implicitly, in an organization with
which you are familiar? Are these the appropriate theories to be used? If not, which ones
would be better?
3. In the human service program you have been designing, which theory do you plan to
apply?
Competency Building Activity 5
Designing the Program
In previous competency building activities you began the process of creating your own
hypothetical human service program. Now you should be ready to decide how to organize your
program by addressing the following questions:
1. How should the organization’s work be departmentalized?
2. How should work be divided among departments and individuals? Draw an
organizational chart that you could use to describe the agency’s design.
3. How would you make sure that the work of various individuals and groups was effectively coordinated?
Competency Building Activity 6: Jobs
By now, you have a good sense of the way your hypothetical program will work. As you
completed the previous chapter, you designed an organizational charge to fit your program’s
mission. Now it is time to consider the kinds of jobs that will fit your organization. Identify
several of the key jobs that will make your program work. Choose one of these jobs and address the following questions.
1. Briefly describe the job that you have selected.
2. What will be the most important activities that the person holding this job will carry out?
3. If you were planning to hire a person for this job, how would you answer the following
questions?
• What would be the primary qualifications the person should have?
• How would you assess whether the job candidates possess these qualifications?
• What would be the key questions you would ask in an interview situation?
• What answers would you be seeking?