Organizational Structure in the Human Services
Every clinician likes to help people, that's why he or she goes into the field, but to counseling is only part of the equation that leads to helping people. The other half of the equation is the mode of providing counseling, the organization. Organizations are needed to bring control and coordination to the helping process. Although this aspect seems tedious, and at times, can be, it is truly important to understand the organizational structure, function, and characteristics in order to find a good placement for the practitioners. Some people will completely disagree with some of the organization of an agency, and thus, should find an alternate agency that is structured accordingly. This post will discuss the different types of organizations and, the functions and characteristics of arganizations.
Types of Organizations
There are three main types of organizations in the helping professions. There are Non-profit, Governmental, and For-Profit agencies that work to fill a niche in the community of the helping professions.
Non-Profit Organizations - these organizations are run by a volunteer "Board of Directors" and employ professionals or volunteers to provide the services to the community. Non-profit organizations utilize funding from private donations, fundraisers, grants, corporations, and government sources. There are benefits and limitations to having multiple donors. It can cause stress on administration to obtain the funds needed for the service to function; however, the multiple sources also means that the services are not dependant on one source. This means that the sources of funding have less control over how the service is run, and if one source becomes unavailable, there are other options to utilize before ending the services provided. My internship is at a Non-Profit organization and I love it. I like that the people who work there are there to help the clients more than anything else. Although the pay and benefits are not the same as what another agency could offer, it is reassurance that the staff are there to help people, not just to collect a paycheck. I have seen that the staff is more than willing to do what it takes to help the clients, and are not about to walk out because the "pay period" is over.
Governmental Organizations - These organizations established by the government (federal, state, regional, county, and municipal) to provide a specific service to a particular target by utilizing the funds recieved by the government. These organizations are generally large and complex in structure. The authority structure is verticle and includes many procedures to follow. Since the funding comes from the governmental (via tax revenues or other governmental sources) the organization's budget and policies and procedures are decided upon by specific legislative bodies. This type of organization is often under staffed and under funded. The clientele is often individuals with state insurance, no insurance, or poor insurance in a particular area (like poor mental health coverage).
For-Profit Organizations - These organizations are more familiar to many people. For-Profit organizations have flourished recently due to a lack of governmental funding to the helping services, and a lack in voluntary work. These organizations have two goals; to provide services to the community, and to make a profit in doing so. This may cause a conflict if the organization prioritizes profit over services. Additionally, the funding comes from private insurance companies, or self pay, and thus, the services and how they are provided are largely influenced by the source of funding.
Recently, there has been a shift in the government to privatize human services. This is when the government shifts its responsibilities to private entities. The thought is that market competition will increase efficiency, productivity, and keep prices competitive.
Functions of an Organization
An organization, either Non-Profit, Governmental, or For-Profit, all share the same functions. The functions of an organization are to:
Provide Direction and leadership to the provision of services
Create an organizational structure and job design to fulfill service needs
Select, train, and develop it's professional or volunteer staff
Communicate and control the service and staff
Create motivation and implement a reward system for staff to provide great service
If all organizations function the same, what makes organizations different from each other? That is answered by examining the characteristics of the agencies.
Characteristics of an Organization
There are many characteristics of an organization that can be compared, however, below are a few characteristics with a breif explaination of what they are.
Separate Identity - each organization has it's own territory, programs, rules and procedures, history and vocabulary. This is likely the most obvious difference, obviously a non-profit organization would have somewhat different procedures than a governmental organization. My internship placement uses vocabulary that is similar to the 12 step program with some variations, and uses its own program structure to help individuals enter recovery from substance use disorders.
Own set of Advocates - Although advocates sounds "official" in this instance it simply means "groupies" or "supporters". Non-profit organizations often have former clients, community members, and other people, that spread the word about the service, and encourage people to become involved. This is easy to see with a non-profit, not so much as a governmental or for-profit agency. Governmental agencies have advocates, their advocates are people who support more funding for governmental services. For-profit advocates are people who spread the word about their experience with a particular private agency, this is more subtle in recommendations rather than encouraging participation or funding. My internship placement holds fundraisers to increase monetary income so that the houses can be maintained, there are people who regularly attend these fundraisers just because it will benefit the organization.
Established purpose and goals - This characteristic is simply that different organizations have different definite purposes and goals from eachother. Mt internship has the purpose of preparing residents to enter into a life of sobriety by providing transitional residential treatment. The goal is that once an individual leaves the house, he will have a job, sobriety, and tools for staying in recovery. Some service providers do not emphasize the need for job placement, which makes my internship location different.
Subsystems often have different purposes - Agencies often have subsystems that may conflict with each other's mission. This can be seen in a division between the administration and the counseling providers. The administrators focus on the monetary and legal needs of the organization while the counselors focus on providing the best treatment to the clients. If budget cuts are made, then services may not be as effective as the counselors would like it; in this case there is a conflict. My internship placement is structurally small, so altough there is subsystems, there is little room for large conflicts because jobs often overlap between the subsystems.
Growth or decline - An organization is either growing, stable, or declining. When one part of the agency is growing, sstable, or declining, all parts of the agency are acting in the same way. I have not been in my internship long enough to appropriately state if the agency is growing, stable or declining.
Crisis - An agency may experience a crisis in which the policies of the agency create some sort of conflict. A crisis can destroy an agency, or help it rebuild into a stronger agency. I am not in a position at my internship to state if the organization has experienced a crisis, although I am sure it has at some point given it's age.
Although all agencies serve the same functions (if it is a well structured agency), agencies differ in their characteristics and sources of funding. There are benefits and limitations to being non-profit, governmental, or for-profit, what is most important is finding the best organizational structure for each staff members personality and values/beliefs.
