“The field of HumanServices is broadly defined, uniquely approaching the objective of meetinghuman needs through an interdisciplinary knowledge base, focusing on preventionas well as remediation of problems, and maintaining a commitment to improvingthe overall quality of life of service populations,” (Wood,n.d.). The main goal or priorityis to improve the overall quality of life for the people within a community. Ipersonally believe that Human Service organizations improve the quality of lifein a variety of ways by guaranteeing availability, responsibility andcoordination among qualified organizations that deliver the programs/ services.Overall, the profession improves quality and standard of life throughparticipant empowerment, advocacy and community support (Hasenfeld, 2009).Human service organizations provideservices to all member of society in order tohelp them stabilize their life and find self-sufficiency through treatment,guidance, counseling and support. There are many ways in which Human Servicesare provided to the public.
The first way is by providing basic needs andservices for those in crisis that are searching for food, a safe environment orshelter due to homelessness, drug/ physical abuse or lack of money. The secondway is by providing services to those who have chronic problems in their lifewhich require mental health treatment, substance abuse counseling or treatmentfor medical conditions. The last way is for those who advocate Human Servicesto improve/ promote safety, public health and economic conditions in theircommunity. For my portfolio project Idecided to select an organization that provides healing to individuals,families and the community in a variety of ways/ services. The organization iscalled Volunteers of America,. Since 1896 Volunteer of America has impacted “the lives of morethan 1.4 million people in over 400 communities in 46 states as well as theDistrict of Columbia and Puerto Rico each year,” (Volunteers of America, n.d.
).Since this project seeks to gather information on the organization, itsstructure, mission, values and funding I thought it would be a perfect fit. Overview of Volunteers of America As a Human Service professional I found that the most intriguingaspect is the prevention/ recovery services that Volunteers of America has to offer in multiple communities. “Volunteersof America is a leader in the field and offers a continuum of supportiveservices and residential treatment options to assist adolescents, adults andtheir families to experience life without addiction and to become contributingmembers of their community,” ( ______ ).
They offer a number of programs andservices such as detoxification, intensive outpatient services and residentialtreatment. Overall they are looking to serve anyone with the goal of helpinghim or her become as self-reliant as possible for themselves, their familiesand the community. Inorder for any organization to successfully achieve their mission they must havethe right people leading the way. Volunteers of America’s organizationstructure is hierarchical, with Michael King named as the President/ CEOof the entire organization, followed by multiple Vice President’s in differentareas. The organization also has a board of directors that provide oversightdirectly to the top management. The board is represented by Richard Cavanagh (Board Chair), Rubye Noble (Vice Chair), June Koegel(Secretary), Jerry G.
Best services for writing your paper according to Trustpilot
Langley (Treasurer), Mike King (President/ CEO) and manymore that have not been named. The board and its head’s have beeneffective in their leadership because not only have then been able tosuccessfully help those in need but because they have been able to achieve manymilestones due to the right funding being available. According to Volunteers ofAmerica 2016 annual report, it shows that 45.8% of their funding comes from thefederal government, 20.96% comes from state and local government, 15.
05% comesfrom program fees and another 11.85% comes from public support. Overall, theyrely on many different sources to fund their work and aren’t afraid to reachout to local corporations/ foundations for their support, or ask for donationsfrom the community to ensure that their programs and services are everythingthe client needs. Inreading multiple reviews about Volunteers of America, I found that they usemultiple motivation programs to motivate and appreciate their team members. Oneof the motivation programs is the award recognition that honors the greatest communityservice and volunteer of the year. It is important that these awards acknowledgeteam members who have shined in their position and motivate them while alsochallenging other staff members to take cues and follow along that path. Theorganization also stated how important it is to them that they engage it’s teammembers in timely and constant training sessions to remain up to date withchanging dynamics. Consistent training ensures that the staff is productive andeffective in treating patients to the best of their ability.
It is also areminder for team members to take what they do very seriously so that thepatient never feels judged, overlooked or insignificant. Incorporatingcontemporary management theory with staffThenature of the company is diverse with competing interests, yet these interestsare interwoven and dependent on one another to function. For example, thecommunity relation division is reliant on the finance division in order toapprove and release funds to carry out its programs/ activities. The finance division,in turn, is dependent on the fundraising division to source the funds. Ibelieve the entire organization works as a harmonious structure so that if onepart is not functioning then, the entire organization will have trouble stayingafloat. “A contemporaryapproach to management that says that a proper combination of workers (thesocial system) and their knowledge, training and tools (the technical system)leads to organizational effectiveness in satisfying customers,” (ContemporaryApproaches to Management & Environments, 2014).
If Iwere a supervisor and decided to utilize this theory, I would need to get astrong understanding/ appreciation for each role and how they effect theorganization in order to effectively make a difference.
