Organizational Analysis Paper 1

Ec5811 SW 4020 Macro Theory and Practice Organizational Analysis Paper Wayne State University February 21, 2014

Organizational Analysis Paper 2 Organization: Bethany Christian Services of Madison Heights is a non-profit organization that works for the betterment of childrens lives. Bethany Christian Services believes that all children are entitled to a happy and healthy life. The mission of Bethany is to demonstrate the love and compassion of Jesus Christ by protecting and enhancing the lives of children and families through quality social services (Bethany Christian Services, "Mission & Values", 2014). The workers of Bethany are expected to utilize and exemplify the following core values: integrity, selflessness, communication, impact, innovation, stewardship, judgment, passion, and courage, all in the hopes to bring glory to God (Bethany Christian Services, "Mission & Values", 2014). Bethany is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. This means that Bethany is a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization. An organization can be exempt from taxes if it provides services that are charitable, religious, and prevents cruelty to children. An organization can only be considered a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit if none of its earnings go to any private shareholder or individual ("Exemption Requirements - Section 501(c)(3) Organizations", 2014). Departments of Bethany Christian Services Bethany has an extensive list of services that it offers, both at the national and international level. Bethany offers a great deal of diverse services all in the name of bettering a childs life. That being said, each location is different and a program that is offered at one location may not be offered at each and every location that Bethany has in the United States.

Organizational Analysis Paper 3 At the national level, there is foster care, which entails providing services for children who have been abused or neglected by their family and subsequently removed (with the hopes of reconciliation). Foster care is a big part o the services offered by Bethany, and it is something that Bethany advocates for in the community. BCS is always looking for new foster families to provide care for children, as well as trying to provide the best service available to their current families. Bethany Christian Services website states that these children are placed with Bethany foster parents who can meet their need for a loving and supportive home environment. The children are in the legal care of the State but, like every child, they need a family to care for them (Bethany Christian Services, 2014). Safe Families for Children (SFFC) is a movement at the national level that gives hope to families in crisis. The SFFC movement is NOT to be confused with either foster care or adoption, but instead allows parents a respite care. Respite care is defined as not a placement. Rather it is a temporary absence from the childs family. Generally, families are offered respite care as a family preservation service to prevent the removal of the child(ren) from their home or to prevent the disruption of a foster care or pre adoptive placement ("Federal Definition of Foster Care and Related Terms", 2000). Unlike in foster care, these children are not children who have experienced neglect or abuse and it is feared that if they continue at their homes that they might eventually experience neglect or abuse. On the other hand, the end goal of SFFC is similar to foster care and that is reuniting the children with their families.

Organizational Analysis Paper 4 Bethany Christian Services also provides counseling services for a variety of individuals and situations. There is counseling for couples who have either experienced infertility or child loss, as well as counseling for women during pregnancy. This counseling is focused on a womans options, either considering adoption, being a parent, or abortion. It needs to be remembered, though, that this is a Christian agency and abortion would most definitely be discouraged and possibly not even offered as an option. There is also counseling for embryo services. According to Bethanys website, over 400,000 human embryos are waiting in cryopreservation and the couples those embryos belong to are done expanding their families (Bethany Christian Services, 2014). Bethany encourages people to donate their embryos, and provides services and counseling for families to do so. Refugee services are a growing part of Bethany. Refugee services are absent from the care at the Madison Heights office, so this student has a lack of knowledge about the different methods used to help refugees. On Bethanys website, it is stated that the refugee resettlement plan connects people who are refugees with churches and families willing to sponsor them. They are offered supports through the community and to help them adjust to the way of life in the United States. They have links for how to provide a refugee child a home, and ways to help the refugees professionally, including setting the refugee up with a job (Bethany Christian Services, 2014). Finally, there is the adoption focus of Bethany. One can receive support and services for adoption an infant (either domestically or internationally), from

Organizational Analysis Paper 5 foster care (after a childs biological parental rights have been terminated), including special needs adoptions. The children that would be considered for special needs adoptions are typically older than five, or part of a sibling group that needs to be adopted with one another, and they typically have a history of trauma. Theories: Bethany Christian Services would be considered to be a bureaucracy. The bureaucracy is an ideal type, meaning that it is a conceptual construct (Netting, Kettering & McMurtry, 2008, pp. 209-52). Bethany exemplifies some of the characteristics of a bureaucracy across the board. Not only are the jobs held by Bethany employees arranged in a very clear hierarchy, but the positions typically demand the full working capacity of their holders and are divided by function so that most line-level workers in each supervisory unit preform one particular function, those in the next unit a different function, and so forth. In line with the theory of bureaucracy, employees at Bethany are currently operating well above their assigned working capacity. Each member on the Foster Care Adoption is allowed a caseload of up to fifteen cases. Many are at the sixteen mark and hoping to close as quickly as possible in order to get to the cases that they currently have waiting on the back burner. They are even going so far as doing the legwork on a case, where a different office is receiving credit, and the offices are working on determining who gets what in the form of pay. The workers are also divided by function. One half of the building is for the foster care offices; whereas the other half is split between domestic adoptions,

Organizational Analysis Paper 6 foster care adoption and the law office. There are large hallways and doors with keypads dividing each part of the office. External Environment: Bethany Christian Services, Madison Heights is located in a safe area. It is by a busy road, and a freeway, and as such it is very easy to locate and travel to. Across the busy road is a high school, and to the right of the building is a neighborhood. There is even a very large hill nearby where people come from across metro Detroit to sled in the wintertime. The neighborhood to the right is full of children, and in the warmer months you can see them running to and fro across the street Often, the workers will spend their lunch break walking around the building (down to the busy street and back) to get some fresh air and exercise. This is an indicator of the comfort of the employees in their environment. That being said, the employees at every Bethany office are not as fortunate. For example, there is an office in Flint, where the workers are not only less secure, but they have experienced dangerous situations. Recently, a foster care workers car was broken into and set on fire while she was working. She lost everything in the care, as by the time she came out and saw her car was on fire, there was nothing to be done. Goals: The goal of Bethany is the betterment of children around the globe. Forever homes is a common phrase one hears at Bethany. The company wishes to provide children with access to healthy, happy homes free of abuse or

Organizational Analysis Paper 7 trauma. The goals of Bethany were established when two women saw the need of children around them. While Bethany has a grand concept, goal displacement has not occurred. Goal displacement is another way of saying the agency has achieved the outcomes that they set (Bohte & Meier, 2000, pp. 173-82). For goal displacement to occur, each and every child would have happy forever homes. Adoptions would not fall through, all families would be reunited, and the international children waiting for homes would be placed, quickly and consistently, regardless of barriers. Structure: As previously mentioned, Bethany has a very specific organized structure. However, the organizational structure is something that could be a much more efficient. Since the Foster Care and Foster Care adoption teams work closely together, the structure of having to go through so many hallways to communicate can be a hindrance. It would be beneficial to have fewer dividers, and more flow in the office. Other than the hindrance of the layout, there is a hindrance in communication in general. Communication takes place through email and instant message. If weather is severe there is a texting/call list that is enacted. The problem with issues like this is that there is no guarantee that someone will receive the message in a timely manner. Things have been forgotten, saved in drafts, and there have been cases of a clients confidential information being sent to the wrong people. This could also have something to do with the overworked status of many of the workers (i.e. working over their allowed caseload).

Organizational Analysis Paper 8 Strengths and Weaknesses Something that is considered a strength of Bethany is its Christian principles and practices. It receives support from churches across Michigan, in the form of donations and volunteers. Churches donate their buildings, time, money, and in general anything that Bethany needs. The very fact that Bethany is a Christian based service is a testament to their longevity. In a world that is mostly secular, and where children dont say the Pledge of Allegiance in school due to the under God line, their commitment to keeping Bethany a Christian organization regardless of the times is strength in and of itself. However, being an obviously Christian organization can also be a downfall. There is a large lack of diversity within the structure of Bethany, and as such many of the clientele that are coming in are also of a Christian background. All the reports read by this student of families hoping to adopt included families that were Christian. There have been no families that are Jewish, or nonreligious. It has never been mentioned by the agency during trainings for families or employees, but families of a different faith are not considered. In fact, Bethany had to redo the qualifications, which allowed catholic families to adopt or provide care. This could encourage families to lie about their religion (or lack thereof) as they may think that they will not be placed with a child if they do not convince Bethany that they are Christians as well. This substantially limits the number of families providing services and limits the amount of children who are placed in forever homes.

Organizational Analysis Paper 9 Bethany Christian Services is a well-known organization, but not always for the best reason. This student has heard from workers at Bethany that the organization has a poor reputation with other agencies, and has been called a baby-trafficking organization. Not only that, but if a client is coming to Bethany from another agency, there is reports of dissatisfaction with disorganization, communication, etc. between Bethany workers and their clients. It was also discussed that Bethany is notorious for removing children from their relative placements, because the placements have a CPS history that DHS or another agency either did not find or ignored. Bethany often takes the flack for trying to follow the guidelines for an appropriate placement and have even been accused of catering only to their families, which may not always be in the absolute best interest of their child. There is also the fact that Bethany counsels anti-abortion. This can be a deterrent for a woman who is seeking counseling on her pregnancy. Even if a woman is not sure what she wants to do, she might think again before going to a Christian organization so that she does not feel persecuted or pressured. Organizational Map: Women make up the bulk of the individuals working for this company. Since it is a primarily Christian company, individuals of a different faith do not work there, or if they do they keep a low profile. There are two men in the Madison Height office, and although there are men higher up in the company (at the board of directors level), most of the supervisory positions are held by women. Ethnically, on the foster care side of the Madison Heights office, more

Organizational Analysis Paper 10 than half of the workers are African American, whereas on the foster care adoption side the workers are primarily white (with one African American worker). There is one Asian American individual in the entire office, and it should be noted that all supervisor roles are filed by Caucasian woman. Recommendations: As a social work student at Bethany, it is recommended that Bethany focus on becoming a more open and inclusive organization. It would be beneficial and a greater asset to the community at large if it was to open its doors to everyone regardless of race, or religious beliefs. Hiring a more diverse population could be beneficial as well for the children being served, especially since the children are coming from very diverse populations and experiences. Bethany could also do more in the community (outside churches) to encourage families to provide care. Finally Bethany can use their will to do good for children, and less on the Christian aspect of service.

Organizational Analysis Paper 11 References Bohte, J., & Meier, K. (2000). Goal Displacement: Assessing the Motivation for Organizational Cheating. Public Administration Review, 60, 173-82. Exemption Requirements - Section 501(c)(3) Organizations. (2014, January 22). IRS. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-NonProfits/Charitable-Organizations/Exemption-Requirements-Section501%28c%29%283%29-Organizations Federal Definition of Foster Care and Related Terms. (2000, October 1). Code of Federal Regulations . Retrieved February 21, 2014, from http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/idcplg?IdcService=GET_FILE&RevisionS electionMethod=LatestReleased&Rendition=Primary&allowInterrupt=1&no SaveAs=1&dDocName=dhs_id_027331 Foster Care. (n.d.). Bethany Christian Services. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from http://www.bethany.org/main/foster-care?link=menu Mission & Values. (n.d.). Mission Statement. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from http://www.bethany.org/main/mission-statement Netting, F. E., Kettner, P. M., & McMurtry, S. L. (2008). Understanding Organizations. Social Work Macro Practice (pp. 209-52). New York: Longman. (Original work published 1993)