Scenario Solution

Scenario Solution Jennifer Hinkley HSM/220 November 20, 2011 Ruth Anne Ristow Axia College of University of Phoenix More and more students are dropping out of high school each year. The need to obtain the funds to open up programs that will make sure that these former students can gain the educational skills they need for their future careers. Having an education will ensure that careers is kept. The plan will take a lot of work, understanding, and communication from all parties. The students, educators, and the community are the main parties’ involved. There can be a plan formulated to find the means for these drop-outs to step up to the challenge and gain enough information and confidence to find a job and to hold down that job successfully. It will not be easy to design the format of these informational programs or to raise the funds to do it. We can, however, organize the program formats in several ways. We can divide the work into departments that will help employees the importance of focusing on their assigned work without being distracted by other aspects of the large project. The first step will be to assemble a team of personnel whom focuses their efforts on advertising. This step is crucial to make sure that the students who need help will hear the message implied. The next step in the program would be to get the students enrolled. It might be difficult to make sure that they believe that their efforts, and ours, but counselors will be there to show them that it is for a valuable purpose. In general, high school drop-outs have demonstrated that they are not that motivated to continue their education. Because of this, another team of personnel will be there to ensure that the returning students understand that a high school education and the associated skills are the best route to a respectable job. One disadvantage of this departmental approach is that the organization might lose track of an individual student who was brought into the program. In the event this happens, it might demoralize and de-motivate a student who thinks that they are being treated as if they are â€Å"special. † However, it may turn into an advantage as well. As the students meet many new people who want to help them, it will begin to boost their self-esteem and their sense of self-worth. The feeling of importance and the realization that many people actually care about their future helps tremendously as well. In the event any of the mentioned issues occur, there will be long-term mentors available to the students so that they do not get lost in the educational process. A group of personnel will also be designated for long-term mentorship of these students. The departments may be divided, but they are also a team that is all working towards the same goal. This is a sure way of increasing teamwork within the organization. With each employee working within their own department that they are specialized or certified in, then reporting back to the team, teamwork will grow throughout the organization. Teamwork is an asset for the foundation by itself, but each person can also build on what another has to say by contributing their own thoughts and experiences. Overall, everything will improve. This includes the students, the organization, and the future cooperate world. The matrix organizational form is also worth considering for the organization. In this organizational form, employees are divided into their skills. For example, within our program created for the drop-out students, some employees may be better at advertising and promoting. Some may be a â€Å"people-person† who are easy to talk to and get along well with other people. Then there are some employees that are good with numbers, math, and logistics. The group that is gifted with advertising and promoting would go into the community to contact and recruit drop-outs, so that they know about and can use our program. Advertising is important, because these drop-outs might not be motivated to do much educationally. Charismatic and excitable kinds of people are needed who can encourage the drop-outs along and motivate them when they falter. Our â€Å"people-persons† would be the employees who would mentor individual students. Finally, the personnel whom are talented with numbers and math would cope with the program budget, finances, supplies, and scheduling. Coming up with the excitement to recruit these students is not the only difficulty that is faced. The competition that is out there that offers available, low-skill jobs will give the drop-outs a sense that our services are not needed. This creates a problem for the organization especially with the jobs that do not require an education to be employed there. These jobs are in fast food, manual labor like landscaping, and domestic work. These companies usually do not require a high school education and they often prefer to hire unskilled, low-wage workers. To compete with these operations, the organization should pass out fliers or brochures near the companies, businesses, and neighborhoods that are employing these high school dropouts. Even a few posted fliers in local assistance offices may help. To make sure that these fliers are effective, the organization will have a design team from the marketing department. The design team will design, create, and print pamphlets, fliers, brochures, and other information about the organization. To compete with these low-educational, low-skill jobs, the main goal is to have a plan to make the students think about wanting more in their lives. They might want a more fulfilling job, a better ability to care for their family, or a better income in the future from a better-paying job. The community would have to supply some of the organization's financial needs. A good example is having a place to hold meetings. Meeting outdoors can be productive and fun so that idea does not need to be eliminated. Once a week, instead of paying for a meeting place, a community outreach program can be held at a local park. This provides space, seating, and opportunity. Drop-out students and even their families and friends could meet each other along with possible and current recruited students. This provides open communication about the program as well as an opportunity to answer any questions the public may have. This allows time to share information and just have a fun time outside while learning about the organization. Some community members might not be supportive of our program, as it would use city money to help drop-outs who, they will argue, should have just stayed in high school and gotten the same results for less money. They will ask questions like: Since the government guarantees free high school education for every student, why should we pay money for this new program when their education should have been free to these students in the first place? In counterpoint, an explanation will be given. This explanation is that local schools are losing government funds from the increasing drop-out rate, and in turn the drop-out rate continues to rise. The program does not encourage more students to drop out, but only help students who already have. It will revitalize the education system by driving home the point as to how important a continuing education is to a student and a citizen. For the program to reach its goals, all of the possible foundation employees will need incentives to do their best. So that all of the employees are working at their top level, incentives and reward systems will be created. The employee who is most successful at recruiting drop-outs into the program, for example, will be rewarded. The employees, rather than the manager, will determine who receives the rewards and what they should be. For example, a manager might decide to give an employee a personal reward of funds to take a few over achieving students to dinner. This only provides ample opportunity to continue to motivate and congratulate the students on their progress. There are many ways that upper management can reward employees for helping the foundation, but the best rewards are the ones that employees want. A survey of the employees to find out which rewards would motivate them the best might be a great way. When the organization has met the original goals of the program, the employees who have contributed the most will also be rewarded. This will motivate employees to strive to reach the foundation's goals. Making goals stimulates personal drive, and it will make foundation employees push themselves harder to achieve the most that they can for themselves and for the organization. The program and the goals in its entirety can be reached, but not without a proper budget. The accounting department along with the human resource department will get together every year to create a budget for the organization itself and the program in which they offer. A line item budget shows the total agency budget. It obtains the number in which the organization cannot go over. It is broken down to how much employees are paid as well as the cost of operating. Another budget needed for the organization to operate successfully is a budget for each person in the organization. This includes skills needed, time spent on training, and a reakdown of what can be spent on each student. With all of the time, energy, and good resources, the organization will reach its goals of helping high school dropouts to obtain their diplomas. This organization is for the good of mankind and what can be done to help others in need. This also creates a chance that returning students will encourage their offspring to continue in their education as well to help the number of overall dropouts to decrease. Line Item Budget Revenue $1,600,000 Expenses Personnel Executive director $100,000 Training supervisor $80,000 Trainers $500,000 Administrative coordinator $45,000 Administrative staff $75,000 Total salaries and wages $800,000 Employee-related benefit$200,000 Expenses @ 25% Operating expenses Rent $125,000 Overhead costs$100,000 Utilities $100,000 Office supplies $25,000 Equipment/lease $50,000 Transportation and travel $100,000 Outside consultants $100,000 Total operating expenses $600,000 Total agency budget $1,600,000 Budget for each person Local government workforce agency—functional and program budget 1 2 3 4 Basic skill Outreach Indirect Total rogram program cost and functional overhead budget Expenses Personnel Executive director $100,000 Training supervisor $80,000 Trainers $300,000 $200,000 Administrative $27,000 $18,000 coordinator Administrative staff $45,000 $30,000 Total salaries and $372,000 $248,000 $180,000 wages Employee-related $93,000 $62,000 $45,000 benefit expenses @ 25% Total personnel costs $465,000 $310,000 $225,000 Operating Expenses Rent $75,000 $50,000 Overhead costs $60,000 $40,000 Utilities $60,000 $40,000 Office supplies $15,000 $10,000 Equipment/lease $30,000 $20,000 Transportation and $60,000 $40,000 travel Outside consultants $60,000 $40,000 Total operating $360,000 $240,000 expenses Total agency budget $825,000 $550,000 $225,000 $1,600,000 Number of eligible 1,000 1,000 1,000 students Total budget need per $825 $550 $225 $1,600 eligible student References Ashford, E. 2011, November 11). Helping high school dropouts get on a college, career track. Retrieved 11 16, 2011, from Community College Times: http://www. communitycollegetimes. com/Pages/Campus-Issues/Community-colleges-play-a-key-role-in-dropout-recovery. aspx Haskins, D. B. (2010, Spring). The Future of Children. Retrieved 11 16, 2011, from http://futureofchildren. org: http://futureofchildren. org/futureofchildren/publications/docs/20_01_PolicyBrief. pdf Kettner, P. M. (2002). Achieving Excellence in the Management of Human Services Organizations. Allyn and Bacon.