Introduction
The corporate sector has been adversely affected by the recent economic downturn. The changing economic settings have led to the need to deviate from the traditional American sense odd responsibility and fairness. Many companies are resorting to new ways of operating their businesses. Business structures are also evolving into more flexible and performance inclined systems. Many organizations are seeking to adopt a corporate structure that would maximize organizational performance and be fair to all stakeholders. The issue of corporate responsibility has also taken center stage in the recent years are organizations seek to participate in activities that promote social and community well-being. This paper focuses on developing an organizational structure that will provide a good balance between organizational performance and fairness.
Organizational structure of a non-profit day care center
Many non-profit organizations have structures that favor their operations. Organizational structures are only developed after the objectives of the business and the kind of business the company does is determined. A non-profit day care has an organizational structure that is suited to the services it provides. Day care centers are different from other business entities because they are oriented to accommodate the human capital offered. The structure is inclined towards ensuring that the human capital in the company is at its maximum productivity.
The day care center is led by the managing director. He is the chief administrator and ensures that all departments in the organization work normally. The center has three main departments, the finance department, the human resource and the service provision department. The three departments are each headed by a manager who has specialized in that field. The three managers are answerable to the managing director of the firm. The managing director must always be briefed by every departmental manager on a weekly basis on the operations in the department. The managing director’s duty is to ensure that the organization is run smoothly, and the relationship between the three departments of the business is cordial and productive.
Departmental managers
The departmental managers are tasked with ensuring that the employees under them work professionally and that the tasks at hand are accomplished. They are also required to inspire and guide their juniors to contribute towards the achievement of the organization’s objectives. The financial manager is in charge of the company’s financial records and operations. They are supposed to keep past records on any business transactions. The department has two sections; the accounting and the financial management and forecasting teams. The accounting team keeps accounting records of the business and record how the cash flows in the company are spent and earned. The financial management team is tasked with planning and forecasting future expenditures and how organizations can handle its finances in case of different economic scenarios.
The human resource department is tasked with ensuring that the organization’s human capital is well catered for and that there are no conflicts. This department is also expected to set the disciplinary standards and discipline those employees who do not adhere to these standards. The department will also have a committee whose work is to appraise the performance of employees on an annual basis. Those employees who record exceptional performance would be rewarded through financial incentives, promotions and added responsibility. The manager in charge is also tasked with providing guidance on the appropriate ways of employee selection and recruitment.
The department of service provision is the main department in the organization. It is the one where the day care services are offered. The employees are all qualified individuals who their services according to the organization’s policy. The manager in charge of these employees is only supposed to ensure each worker has all the necessary resources to provide and run the services by caring for young children. The manager also assigns the duties of service provision and responsibility to various employees. The clients who come for day care services present their cases to the manager, who then assigns these cases to the relevant employees based on their qualifications and experience.
Fairness
Fairness in the organization is promoted in a manner that the employees are paid adequately. The service providers have different ranks based on their qualifications and level of experience. The more experienced employees earn slightly more than the less experienced. Furthermore, the service providers who deal with technical cases earn slightly higher salaries than those who deal with less technical cases. The performance levels of the employees are also kept high by the organization’s policy of conducting appraisals annually. The employees are required to strictly adhere to organization rules and policies to be productive. They are also inspired by their leaders to work hard. The company’s policy to award incentives such as money, promotions and recognition to the best employees each year and the employee of the month award also helps promote performance levels.
The organizational structure of a non-profit day care center is such that there are many potential ethical issues. The top management could easily find themselves in ethical tensions with the board of directors, owners, customers, the public and even employees. The managing director interacts with each of these stakeholders in a different manner. This makes the types of possible ethical tensions to differ. The interaction of the managing director with the board of directors is a crucial one. The board of directors helps in making important decisions. A possible ethical tension is the issue of insubordination. The managing director may have a different idea or objective from the one made by the board of directors. Usually, the manager is supposed to abide by the decisions made by the board. The manager only implements the ideas and policies passed by the board. However, when the manager ignores the board’s decision and does what he thinks, it raises an ethical problem.
Ideological conflicts between the mangers, boards of directors and owners of the company may also result in ethical tensions. Usually, owners of any company want to make a profit and maximize their wealth. However, the manner in which the company is to achieve this objective varies. In some cases, the board of directors and managers may choose to adopt a certain strategy to achieve organizational growth and enhance service provision. However, the owners may have different ideas on how the company should be run and how the objectives should be attained. This raises a conflict of interest, which in some cases results in managers being fired or organizations experiencing poor services and growth. The owners of the organization may also set unrealistic objectives for the board and the mangers. This creates unnecessary burden on the managers as they try to implement impractical ideas. This creates tension and may lead to poor performance.
Ethical tension may also arise between employees and the management because of trust issues. Organizations must have codes of ethics to guide employees on how they should behave while at work. However, employees may want to operate independently because too many rules impose too much pressure on them. When the code of ethics is broken and the organizational rules violated, there is a likelihood that tension will rise and there will be mistrust between managers and employees. Close supervision may also put too much pressure on employees, making them less productive. The managers may also lose faith in their staff when they feel that the employees are not honest.
Tension could arise between managers in different departments as they seek to implement their duties. The financial and accounting sections of the company could differ on how the funds in the organizations should be managed. The service provision manager may also differ with the human resource manager on the qualifications needed to hire consultants. They may also differ on how employees should conduct themselves while at work because the human resource rules may be different from those in the service provision department. These tensions may lead to unnecessary disagreements which could cause underperformance in the company.
The clients and employees may differ because of the services provided. At times clients come to day care centers with very high expectations. Some even believe that the employees will offer solutions to their problems by taking care of their children. However, employees only offer services during the day and give their advice on how best to cater for young children. The rest depends on whether the client adheres to the advice or not. When clients do not get service to their expectations, they turn against the employees. This raises ethical tension because clients do not have confidence in the services they get.
Finally, tension could arise between the public and the board of directors in the company. In the modern business environment, corporate social responsibility has evolved into an integral part of many organizations. If the company does not take part in corporate social responsibility, the public may develop a negative attitude towards it. This is because they view it as an organization whose managers and owners are selfish and never wish to give back to society.
Responsibility, accountability and evaluation
In the day care center, there are different levels of management. Each level has distinct power, responsibility, accountability, performance evaluation, compensation and rewards. The managing director is the topmost level of administration in the firm. The occupant of this post is accountable to the board of directors and shareholders. The decisions made by the two bodies are implemented by the managing director. The managing director supervises the three main departments in the organization. Departmental managers must report to the managing director and account for every operation and decision made. The managing director is evaluated based on the general performance of the organization. The managing director is tasked to ensure a smooth relationship between the three departments.
The departmental managers are tasked with ensuring that the employees under them work diligently. They are required to implement the strategies formulated by the board of directors. The finance and accounting managers must account for the financial accounting records and oversee policy formulation of the corporate finance of the firm. The human resource manager must ensure that there is a strong system in place to guide employee recruitment, selection and appraisal. The service provision manager is in charge of allocating responsibilities to employees and ensuring they abide by organizational and professional day care services. These managers are also appraised annually based on their ability to guide their junior employees and implementation of the organizational strategy.
Conclusion
The junior employees include the day care service providers, financial officers, accountants and other subordinate officers. These individuals are treated as esteemed employees in the organization. They all have specified roles, which they must accomplish. The employees are appraised on an annual basis. Those who record good performances are compensated and rewarded. Some of the rewards and compensation include promotions, added responsibility and financial incentives such as salary increments. Therefore, ethics forms an integral part of any corporation. Employees at all levels or ranking must adhere to the organizational structure and accomplish their duties. This will ensure that the organization realizes its objectives and that there is harmony and understanding between employees and every other stakeholder in the organization. The organizational structure of a company clearly states the different ranks, the roles of every member and how they are expected to accomplish their roles.
Reference
Cuilla, J., Martin, C., & Solomon, R. (2010). Honest Work (2nd Edition ed.). New York: Oxford.
