Organizational Analysis: " Change Happens "

A. Introduction

1. Identify the type of organization that you are about to model as a social system. Ecological systems theory

2. Provide brief background information about this organization. Change Happens was formerly known as Families Under Urban & Social Attack (FUUSA) it is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, community-based organization.

Originally founded in 1989 by Rev. Leslies Smith as outpatient alcohol and drugs prevention and treatment program. Rev. Leslies Smith wanted to expand his help he not only wanted to help addicts but also serve the community.

Change Happens has since grown from 1 program to over 18 programs. Located in the heart of the third ward in Houston Texas the organization focus on helping the community overcome the educational and social obstacles surrounding poor and working poor households(changehappenstx.org,2005).

3. Which organizational theory is most applicable? Discuss why you selected this theory? Weber's bureaucratic was the most applicable organization theory for me to use. This organization like many has a administration that is responsible for maintaining coordinative activities of the members. Understanding their organization hierarchy is pyramids of officials within the large organization corresponding to different functions.

B. Boundary

1. Discuss what a boundary is and its role within the social system perspective A boundary connects and divides the system within the environment.

2. Identify your organization's boundary and reasons why you believe this is a boundary. The organization provides services for the community but in order for you to be able to get any services from Change Happens you have a state identification, driver licenses, or school id. Being that most of the clients are live poverty they may not have any form of identification I believe this may be one boundary that exists.

3. Identify and discuss specific boundary maintenance behaviors that support the boundary you have identified in this organization. One-way boundary maintenance takes place when you first enter the office you can't gone any further then the front with presenting you identification to the person who works behind the desk then after you have been properly signed in she will let proceed.

C. Suprasystem

1. Discuss what a suprasystem is and its role within the social system perspective. Suprasystem is the environment that exist outside the agency.

2. Identify a minimum of two interactions that are derived from your organization's suprasystem. Yakes High School and Cueny Homes provide Change Happens with clients that need their serveries.

3. Discuss how these two interactions 1) mutually determinative (cause and effect) and 2) relates to the larger environment. Yakes High School provides young from the community that use the services that Change Happens provides. The Third ward area community also has provided many of the clients. Like Cuney Homes project they have many adults and kids who use the programs and services that Change Happens provides.

4. Are the interactions between your organization and its suprasystem cooperative or conflictual? Discuss your selection and why you believe this to be the case. I believe this cooperative interaction between the community and Changes Happens, because Change Happens sets out to better the people and restore the community.

D. Interface

1. Discuss what an interface is and its role within the social system perspective. Interface is a shared boundary that between two systems.

2. Identify one interface between your organization and one of the interactions you identified in the suprasystem in Section C (2).

3. Discuss what turbulence exists at the interface that you identified in D (2) and why it is turbulent.

4. Does the interface allow or filter communication? Why?

E. Task Input

1. Discuss what task input is and its role within the social systems perspective. Task input are results from the actives within a system.

2. Identify your organization's task signal input. Explain how your selection fits the role of being a signal input.

3. Identify your organization's task maintenance input(s). Explain how your selection(s) fit the role of being a task maintenance input(s).

F. Proposed Task Output

1. Discuss what proposed task output is and how it relates to the social systems perspective. Proposed task output is a goal set of a social system.

2. What conditions within the suprasystem initially led to a need for this organization? In the Houston Third ward community many of the people are living below poverty level.

Reports from The City of Houston department of Health and Human services states that nearly half (47%) of the population in Greater Third Ward lived below the poverty level in 1999.

Seventy-two percent of all residents in the super neighborhood had incomes less than twice the poverty level. Of those living below the poverty level, 37% were children under 18 years of age; 10% were adults 65 and older.

3. How was this organization meant to address/alter the conditions identified in F (2)?

a. Mission. To help restore and empower the people in the Houston Third Ward community.

a.1. What is your organization's current mission? Change Happens mission is to help empower families to help themselves

b. Goals Change Happens aims to restore whatever resources that are most scarcest in the community and provide educational and empowerment to the people in the community.

b.1. Identify one task goal your organization seeks to achieve. Educate and provide services in the community to help sustain financial stability and increase economic growth.

b.1.a. What is your organization's proposed task objective for achieving this goal? Change happens provide programs that give positive pathways that help reduce the problem or situations in people life.

b.1.b. What day-to-day activities (a minimum of 2) does your

organization state they will engage in to meet its goal? Everyday Change Happens has after school programs for the youth in the community that not only provides educational help that also provide snacks and mentoring. Also the doors are always open to adults who may come in and need help either with looking for services or just needed a person to talk to.

b.2 Identify one task maintenance goal your organization seeks to achieve.

b.2.a. What is your organization's proposed objective for achieving the maintenance goal?

b.2.b. What activities (a minimum of 2) does your organization propose engaging in to achieve its maintenance goal?

G. Actual Task Output1. Discuss what actual task output is within the social systems perspective and how it differs from proposed task output.

a. Based on the objective you identified in section (F3) b.1.a what is the actual task output?

b. Based on the objective you identified in section (F3) b.2.a what is the actual task output?

2. Discuss what system waste is within the social systems perspective and how it relates to actual task output.

a. Based on the objective you identified in section (F3) b.1.a what is the waste?

b. Based on the objective you identified in section (F3) b.2.a what is the waste?

H. Conversion Operations

1. Structure

a. Discuss what ‘organizational structure' is and why it is important in formal organizations.

b. Describe your organization's organizational structure (i.e. bottom-up; top-down; divisions of labor; power delegations). **Be sure to attach an organizational chart that you create yourself to the end of your paper.

c. Identify and explain how parts of the organizational structure in section (H1) b utilize their resources to meet the goals discussed in sections (F3) b.1 and (F3) b.2.

2. Functions

a. Discuss what a function is within the social systems perspective and why it is important in formal organizations.

b. Identify and describe what functions exist in your organization based on the structure you identified in (H1) b.

c. What are the various types of technology and/or practice modalities used in your organization?

3. Feedback

a. Discuss what feedback is and its overall utility for formal organizations.

b. Provide examples of feedback occurring in your organization (that would impact the objectives you have identified in sections (F3) b.1.a and (F3) b.2.a.

c. Discuss and explain to what extent the feedback is positive, negative or both.

d. In what ways should the proposed objectives in sections (F3) b.1.a) and (F3) b.2.a) be modified based on the feedback you identified in 3b?

e. Discuss how a social work practitioner could potentially utilize the information discussed and resultant feedback to enhance organizational/employee performance.