This is an assignment paper that focuses on the Devonshire Senior Center management and leadership improvements. The paper also provides further instructions on how to write the paper.
Instruction
You have been hired by the Board of the Devonshire Senior Center on a grant Terry Lee received to hire you as a consultant to make recommendations on how to improve center management and leadership. Please become familiar with all aspects of this case. You can find the case on BlackBoard. As a first steps assume you meet with Terry Lee and a 2-member committee of the board. They ask for the following “deliverable:” a well-sourced report that will serve as a guide for what they should do in the coming months.
Use class materials (lectures, discussions, and readings) to provide an 8-10 report (2,000 to 2,500 words). (Please reference your suggestions using at least 20 references in parenthetical footnotes as shown in the case study example.). Footnotes listed at the end of your paper will not count in the page totals. As a consultant, you can talk to anyone you want about this assignment. You can discuss this assignment with each other but you must write your own paper. The final paper is open book.
The following areas must be in your paper:
Overview: Firstly, what is the mission of this Center? If there is no mission statement, recommend one that can be used as a starting place and then recommend how a new mission statement should be developed (Feel free to use your class discussions on this from earlier in the semester.)
What are the Center’s strengths and weaknesses?
Major Issues: Secondly, what are the major issues that the organization is currently wrestling with? Are there controversies? Additionally, are there internal or external struggles? If so, what is their nature and how do you recommend that leadership go about resolving them?
Staff: Are the right staff in place? How should they be directed and how will their performances be assessed going forward? How would you motivate staff? What should be done if staff lack the capacity to do the job they’re in?
Structure: Thirdly, what structure best describes how this organization works presently? Also, what are the administrative roles in the organization and who occupies them: what activities do/should these administrators carry out? To formalize these roles, should anything be done to improve the structure? If so, why and what should be done?
Behavior: Fourthly, how has the organization supervised its employees? Also, what supervising and decision-making approach do you recommend? Do the staff seem motivated (by what means and by whom)? How would you go about improving people’s sense of motivation?
Planning and Evaluation: What planning strategies should be put in place? How would you recommend carry out these planning strategies? How should leadership evaluate success or failures? What kinds of information and data could be used?
Leadership: Lastly, what can Terry Lee do to be an effective leader in the short term? Can the Center’s culture be enhance? If so, how? Can anything be done to build more effective teamwork? If so, what?
Change: Who are the key stakeholders? How do you engage these key stakeholders? What do you want to avoid?
What priorities should Terry Lee focus on? Think 3 the most important things to help this Center function well in the future?
Grading Criteria
The following questions will serve as a guide for grading:
Comprehensiveness of your response. (How well and how thoroughly you covered the points). (25%)
Appropriateness: Your suggestions are logical and also make sense given the issues in the case. (25%)
Using class materials: Integration of concepts from the readings, discussions and lectures to document your points. (Did you use the theories/concepts from the reading and those discussed in class appropriately? 20 appropriate sources for full credit (40%)
Execution. (Is your paper well thought out? Does it look presentable? Did you stay within the guidelines in terms of length? (10%)