two job description

1O DIMENSIONS OF HUMAN SERVICES MANAGEMENT

performance of the agency (Stein, 1970, p. 7; Weinbach, 1998). This concept of management stresses the notion of collective responsibility, "wherein each person (i.e., role), every functional entity, plays a vital part in the administrative

\- process" (Patti, 1983, p.25). Finally, management/administration refers

to a set of functions and roles that are largely (though not exclusively) the province ofpersons in middle and upper levels of organizations. In this meaning, the manager or administrator engages in a purposeful method of practice that is aimed at helpingthe organization to

\ o develop a mission, goals, strategic and operational plans aimed at meeting impor- tant community needs;

o develop an administrative structure that assigns responsibility, allows for account- ability, enables communication both later- ally and vertically, and defines decision- making processes;

. acquire, allocate, and monitor resources necessary for agency operations;

. represent and advocate for the agency in the community and with external con- stituencies that provide legitimacy and resources;

o collaborate with other agencies serving a common clientele;

o recruit, develop, train, and supervise a skilled worKorce that is committed to the achievement of the agency's goals;

o facilitate an agency enyironment that val- ues staff and empowers them to give their best effiorts in the provision of services to clients;

o develop and implement information tech- nologies that permit the agency to assess the productivity and effectiveness of its own programs and services in the interest of continuously improving its services, meeting the needs of consumers, and accounting to community stakeholders.

Note that we use the word helping above to conveythe idea that managers seldom accomplish

these things unilaterally. Their core function is to lead, to catalyze action, to create circumstances that empower other persons to perform these functions effectively and efficiently.

Management Roles

Human services management or administra- tion is a multi-faceted practice and process that is, or should be, ultimately concerned with deliv- ering services to consumers. The services are aimed at a wide variety of goals but include, prominently, changes in the statuses, social con- ditions, behaviors, and capabilities of individu- als, families, and/or community groups. To help the agenry achieve these goals, managers per- form a broad array of roles that require political, analytic, interpersonal, and leadership skills.

Managerial roles have been variously defined (Austin & Kruzich, 2004; Mintzberg, 1973;Patti, 1977),but the framework suggested by Menefee and his colleagues (Menefee, 2001) is useful because it grew out of an empirical examination of what social work managers actually do in the human services (see Chapter 5 for'a fuller dis- cussion of management roles and tasks). According to Menefee, managers perform the following roles:

c Communicator: exchanging information with stakeholders within and outside the organization to keep them informed on matters pertinent to common interests and concerns. This role is instrumental in the performance of all those that follow.

o Boundary spanner: creating and sustaining relationships with stakeholders in the task environment to build collaborative arrange- ments and strategically position the agency to be influential in key decision forums.

o Futurist-innovator: understanding and adap- ting to changes in the social, economic, political, demographic, and technological environments that pose threats and opportu- nities and planning to anticipate and shape responses to new opportunities.