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Organizational
Assessment
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Objectives:
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| This is an individual
project. The purpose of this assignment is to: |
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Practice applying various theories and
concepts from the readings to a real public or nonprofit organization;
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Analyze the organization's
structure and processes; and, |
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Meet practicing pubic
administrators. |
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Directions
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You
must select a public or nonprofit organization to analyze
for this assignment. It cannot be affiliated with UNCW and
you should not be a past or present employee of
the organization.
While there is no upward size limit, it must have at least two departments
or organizational sub-units and 10 employees. If you select a large
organization with multiple departments, you can focus your analysis on one
department within the larger organization. You may want to
consider selecting an organization similar to one you might be interested in
working with in the future. There is no geographic limit in terms of
its physical location but you will have to visit it and interview at least 3 employees, one of
which must have some managerial/leadership responsibilities and one should
occupy an entry level position. Be sure to list these individuals in
the report and include their formal job descriptions if possible. You
will also need to collect and review various documents such as the
organizational chart, policy & procedures manuals, annual reports, budget
documents, etc. Accordingly, organizations with good websites will
facilitate your assessment. Overall, your objective is to collect data
that allow you to provide the following information in your final report: |
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Describe the organization's
mission and its goals and objectives? How is managing this public
or nonprofit organization "different" than it would be in the public
sector? |
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Describe the political
environment that the organization operates within. How do
"politics" influence the management of the organization? What
influence do organizations at other levels of government have on its
operations? Where does it get its resources (e.g., budget) from?
What constraints does this create in terms of its ability to accomplish
the mission? |
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Describe the structure of the
organization in terms of 6 factors described in the reserve reading
(i.e., formalization, work specialization, departmentalization, chain of
command, span of control, centralization/decentralization) and include
an organizational chart |
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Describe the culture of the
organization. While promotional materials and the people you
interview may be a useful source of information
(e.g., rites, rituals, legends, sagas, etc.),
be sure to be a careful observer while visiting the organization (e.g.,
artifacts, physical setting, symbols, and
perhaps even a ritual).
You may be surprised how much
you can learn by simply observing if you put your mind to it.
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Describe what motivates the
three people you interviewed? What theories best explain their
motivation and job satisfaction? What techniques does the
organization take to try and motivate the employees? What theories
support these techniques or raise questions about their effectiveness? |
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Describe the characteristics
of the highest ranking person you interview that make them an effective
leader? What characteristics make them an effective manager?
How do they perceive the difference between leading and managing?
What is their leadership style? Are they more transactional or
transformational in their approach? What is your assessment of
their effectiveness as a leader and a manager? |
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Conclude the report by
reflecting on what you learned from this assignment. What
surprised you the most? What surprised you the least? Is
this the type of organization you could see yourself working in in the
future? Why or why not? |
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| When providing this
information, be sure to specifically link your discussion to the theories
and concepts from the readings and lecture notes and to include references
as needed. |
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Presentation
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individual will present their assessment using
appropriate audiovisual aids. Your presentation is limited to 12
minutes. The quality of the presentation will be factored into your
final grade for this assignment. |
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Writing
Assignment
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group should prepare a report that describes the
organization and applies each set of concepts described above. Your
report should be about 15 double-spaced pages with 12
point font and 1 inch margins. Be sure to include
appropriate tables and figures to support your analysis (e.g.,
organizational chart).
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