Communities and Organizations: 9,10,11

Practice

the way in which organizations or individuals go about doing business. Practices are less formalized than policies and may be specific to individuals and groups.

Task 2: Write Outcome Objectives

thinking in terms of the impact on clients or program participants as a result of the intervention.

Project

time limited existence and are more flexible than programs so that they can be adapted to the needs of a changing environment.

Collaboration

type of strategy that implies a working relationship where the two systems (action and target systems) agree that change must occur.

Implementation tactics

used when the action and target systems are willing to work together. When these systems agree that change is needed and allocation of resources is supported by critical decision makers, the change can move toward this term. This will most likely involved problem-solving, but it is not expected that highly adversarial relationships will be a concern in these types of collaborative effots.

Initiator System

who first recognized the problem and brought attention to it and how should/can these initiators be involved in change effort.

Assess support from individuals, groups, and organizations

1.) has anyone important to the success of the change effort been left out? 2.) who supports the proposed change? 3.) who opposes the proposed change? 4.) Who is neutral about the proposed change? This questions are an example of?

Action System

Who should be represented on a central "steering committee" or decision-making group that will see change effort through to completion. This system is made up of individuals from other systems who have an active role in planning the change and moving it toward implementation. There might be overlap with this system and the change agent system.

Task 3: Develop Process Objectives

designed to spell out the ways in which the outcome objective will be achieved. Should identify the major components of a planned intervention, not the specific details. I.e. self-sufficiency... 1.) GED completion 2.) a skills training course 3.) job counseling 4.) job placement 5.) follow-up

The costs of doing nothing

exploring the costs of the organization or community if nothing is done. Also, exploring how can this cost be framed so that it will be persuasive to decision makers as a good investment to support the proposed change

Controlling System

has the formally delegated authority and power to approve and order implementation of the proposed change. They ultimately have the authority to say "yes" to the change.

Working Hypothesis of Etiology

hypothesis of the problem i.e. lack of job opportunities

actvities

lists of tasks that must be undertaken and completed in order to achieve each objective.

strategy

long range goals/overall efforts designed to ensure that the proposed change is accepted.

Campaign

type of strategy used when the target must be convinced of the importance of the change, but when communication is still possible between the two systems. The effectiveness of this type of strategy may determine whether collaboration or contest follows.

The cost of change

what anticipated costs related to the proposed change can be itemized? what must be estimated? what sources of financial support or in-kind donations should be approached.

Target System

what needs to be changed i.e. individual, group, structure, policy, and practice, in order for the effort to be successful. Where this system is located. There might be multiple of these, that needs to be pursed in multiple episodes of planned change.

Availability of resources to sustain the change effort

what sources will resources be solicited and what resources will be requested for the change effort. I.e. staff time, volunteer time, equipment, supplies, space, etc...

Intervention Hypothesis

1.) a representative group should examine all relevant findings from analyzes of problem, population, and areas. 2.) relevant quantitative data should be distilled into clear working hypothesis or etiology, establishing an understanding about cause-and-effect relationships. 3.) based on working hypothesis of etiology, creative ideas should be generated about the interventions that appear to be relevant to he need as it is currently understood. 4.) using these proposed interventions, a working intervention hypothesis should be developed. A series of statements should out a clear set of understanding about the nature of the intervention and the expected results or outcome.

Address public image and relationships

1.) the party involved in promoting the proposed change, and how they are perceived by decision makers. 2.) person(s) who can serve as an effective spokesperson for the proposed change. 3.) person(s) who should keep a low profile when the proposed change is presented to decision makers.

Assess level of support

1.) what facts and perspectives gleaned from analysis of the problem, population, and arena support the proposed change? 2.) what facts and perspectives oppose the proposed change? Refer to Figure 10-2

Continuum of strategies

Collaboration<-->Campaign<-->Contest

Controlling and Host Systems

If these two systems are active supporters or sponsors of the change, it may be possible to move quickly to implementation tactics to bring about change. If members of these two systems are supporters but NOT participants in the change, capacity building may be the tactic choice. If they appear to be neutral or indifferent, one or more of the tactics in the category of campain strategy may be in order. FINALLY, if members of these two systems are oppressive or unresponsive, then one or more of the contest strategy are likely needed.

Systems in Interaction

Must be able to define systems separately for conceptual purposes. Its important for change agent to understand the domain, authority, and power of each systems and that they keep roles, responsibilities, and expectations for each clear and distinct. A roster might be helpful.

Host and Implementing System

Organization or organizational unit who will be responsible for sponsoring and carrying out the activities of the change effort. These individuals will be involved in directly delivering the services or other activities necessary to implement change effort.

Client System

The primary beneficiaries of change; the secondary beneficiaries of change. Sometimes referred to as target population.

Criterion for measuring success

The way in which the result as stated in the objective will be measured; are therer observable criteria readily available for measurement

Policy

a formally adopted statement that reflects goals and strategies or agreements on a settled course of action.

Persuasion

art of convincing others to accept and support one's POV on an issue.

Intervention Planning

careful planning so that managers do not leave too much to chance. Acitivites tend to get sidetracked within organizations unless someone puts into place certain vehicles designed to keep them on track.

Purpose

change goals often evolve as the change process moves along; therefore, a re-examination prior to the selection of tactics is in order.

Cooptation

closely related to persuasion, defined as minimizing anticipated opposition by absorbing or including members of the target system in the action system.

objectives

elaboration of goals. They spill out the details of the planned intervention in measurable termsm including expected outcomes and the processes needed to achieve them.

Time frame for the objective

establishing a day, month, and year when the first results should be evident; point in the future when it is reasonable to expect to see measurable results from this intervention.

Identifying alternative perspectives

exploring how opponents of the change effort will frame their opposition. In addition to the amount of conflict and contentiousness that is to be expected.

managing logisitcs

facilities, equipment, and other resources needed prior to implementation. Knowing where personnel and volunteers will be housed. Displaying these steps/phases on a flowchart.

Lobbying

form of persuasion that targets decision makers who are neutral or opposed to the proposed change.

Assess duration, intensity, and frequency

how long has the problem existed? is the problem considered an emergency? is the problem episodic or recurring, how often does it occur?

Task 5: Initiate the Action Plan

in order for this to be successful tasks should be completed in advance prior to involving clients, consumers, or participants. Must be well organized at the point of implementation and have a clearly defined lead person or coordinator. Primary focus of this person is to get others to get the job done, to maintain morale, and to motivate participants.

Capacity building

includes tactics of participation and empowerment. Participation refers to activities that involve members of the client system in the change effort. Empowerment refers to the steps needed to free members of the client system from real or perceived barriers to participation. Using an empowerment perspective means recognizing the power differentials within a community and working to promote positive change within all community members.

Outside opposition to change

individuals or groups outside the systems who are expected to oppose the change effort; possible scenarios that may develop and how the action system will deal with this conflict

Working Intervention Hypothesis

interventions that reduce or eliminate the etiology(problem). I.e. providing opportunities for education and development of marketable skills

Education tactics

involves various forms of communication from members of the action system directed toward those in the target system. Involves face to face meetings, formal presentations, or written materials.

Task 4: List of Activities for Process Objectives

itemize activities. Activities represent the highest level of detail incorporated into the plan. Activities should specify the work to be done, the person responsible, and a time frame.

Task 1: Set a Goal for the Intervention

overall outcome that is expected if the intervention is successful.

Change Agent System

person who is responsible for the leadership and coordination in the early stages of the change effort. The coordinator.

Personnel

persons who are in interaction within the change arena

Assess political and interpersonal readiness

pooling knowledge and information among those supporting the change will help in understanding how best to approach each of the decision makers who are critical to it's success. For i.e. the Community Readiness Assessment tool (Shroepfer, Sanchez, Lee, Matloub, Waltz, and Kavanaugh, 2009).

Program

prearranged sets of activities designed to achieve a set of goals and objectives.

Bargaining and Negotiation

refers to situations in which the action and target system confront one another with the reasons for their support and/or opposition to a proposal or an issue. There is typically a recognized power differential between parties, and compromises need to be made.These tactics are more formalized than persuasion and sometimes involves a third party mediator.

Large group or community action

refers to the preparing, training, and organizing of substantial numbers of people who are willing to form a pressure group and advocate for change through various forms of collective action such as picketing, disruption of meetings, sit-ins, boycotting and other confrontational tactics.

politics

refers to the reasons or motivation behind the different ways individuals respond when asked to support a change effort. Often comes down to negotiating among competing interests.

Class Action Lawsuits

refers to those instances where an entity is sued for a perceived violation of the law and it is expected that the finding of the court will apply to an entire class of people.

Support System

secondary beneficiaries of the change. Remember the overlap. Associations, coalitions, alliances, or organizations that are interested in resolving problems associated with this population group.

tactics

short range and specific behaviors of groups/specific techniques and behaviors employed in relation to the target system designed to maximize the probablity that the strategy will be successful and the proposed change adopted.

Contest

strategy used when, because of the strength of the opposition, neither of the other two strategies is possible.

Primary client

the role of this type of client may vary, and the way in which this role is perceived can affect selection of change tactics. Sometimes it is difficult to determine who this type of client is.