Action Plan: Job Design

Psychological Requirements:

In line with current police hiring practices, Fervin Day Center will require all employees who work directly with the clients (i.e. those falling under the Director of Support, Client Processing, Drug Testing Manager, Risk Assessment, and Security Team) to undergo psychological screening prior to being hired (Stojkovic et al., 2015). This psychological screening is in order to determine the capability to handle high stress, high emotion, and high commitment jobs that are to be conducted by these specific employees.

Motivation Structure: A blended strategy           

Fervin Day Center focuses on the Human Relations school of thought for motivation within the workplace. The Human Relations school of thought focuses on how “employees fit into organizations beyond simply being workers”, which is directly in line with how the Fervin view’s their employees as family, not just workers (Stojkovic et al., 2015, p. 132). Due to this mindset the Fervin specifically focuses on the individual employee and how that individual are motivated in the workplace. The Directors of Support, Facilities, and Operations have monthly meetings with the higher ranking managerial staff, including the Health and Wellness Officer, Life Support Officer, Equipment Manager, Services Manager, Public Relations Officer andHuman Resources Officer. During these monthly meetings discussions about employee motivation and how the motivation can increase the positive outcome of the clienteles success is discussed.

In Fervin, the motivation of all employees is not the same and through the variances is where the difference is made for the clients to find a connection with the staff. The Fervin strongly believes in the needs theory to encourage support and decrease the stress of the staff by making sure the basic needs of all employees are covered (Stojkovic et al., 2015). These needs are met through the salary and benefits package to alleviate any stress about the physiological needs (Stojkovic et al., 2015). The needs include provided lunch daily for all staff including clients who are hired as part of the internal structure through the Director of Facilities for food service. Fervin then uses specific motivation theories focused on what individual employees respond to best. Through the smaller size of the Fervin Day Center organization that the individualistic needs can be met, and the specific motivations are determined and enacted for the employees. For example, an employee in the Rehabilitative Services department finds motivation through the achievement-power-affiliation theory, finding much motivation through the success of their work in helping the clients recover and rehabilitate from their behavioral problems (Stojkovic et al., 2015). This employee responds well to the feedback from the Health and Wellness Officer providing praise and encouragement through the graduation process of clients.

 

Job Characteristics:

In order for Fervin Day Center to have positive job structure and provide job satisfaction to all employees, the Fervin requires employees to be open about personal struggles and needs that affect their job performance. In order to achieve a satisfying job design, the following have been applied to the Fervin Day Center as adapted from Stojkovic et al. (2015).

1. Adequate elbow room
   1. As outlined on the organizational chart, workers will all have direct reporting for supervision purposes. To allow for adequate elbow room, this reporting is from problem/conflict management and fiscal control primarily. Due to the nature of the Fervin Day Center, staff are typically trained and certified for only their specific role. This job structure means that unless a superior is specifically trained for that role, there is no need for the supervisor to be hovering and micromanaging the employees. All employees are required to sign a contract that includes an honor policy to try and ensure that all employees are acting with the appropriate methods but without being directly supervised on a daily basis.
2. Chances to learn on the job and go on learning
   1. All new employees will be partnered with current staff for a week after their initial hire. This job shadowing will provide specific Fervin Day Center learning for all new employees to learn the operations of the Center. There is also an ongoing and constant training staff, with the main goal of providing continued learning and training for all staff. This training includes the opportunity for all staff to attend seminars to further their education and progress to the changes in the rehabilitative services.
3. An optimal level of variety
   1. Due to the nature of the Fervin Day Center, the variety of the job will come on a daily basis for staff. Every client is going to be different and are expected to be treated with regards to their individual needs. Not all clients are given the same treatment, and thus the variety and “excitement” for the staff is going to come in daily challenges to providing the best and most appropriate treatment for all clients.
   2. For those staff member’s that do not directly work with clients, the day to day is going to continue to be varied due to the every changing environment of the workplace. The clients being offendersare going to provide everyone with a different workplace For example, the financial staff is going to have no direct working relationship with the clientele, but do to the changing climate of support and the intake of new personnel, the financial team will still have change and variety in their daily work.
4. Help and respect from workmates
   1. Given the nature of the Fervin Day Center, working to better the clients and provide them with alternative behaviors and to integrate them back into society, the workplace must function in a helpful and respectful manner. If the staff is unable to respect and help, each other chaos will ensue and could cause major problems with the instability of the clients. The fact that the staff wants to work to help offenders better themselves should put the staff in a likeminded frame. To encourage this each department will have weekly meetings to discuss failures and success of the week and to form a game plan for the following week to help each other succeed and ensure the successful graduation of the clients.
5. A sense that one’s work meaningfully contributes to social welfare
   1. Workers are not “trained monkeys” as the specific need from each worker is unique and needed for the success of the Center as a whole. Workers should feel as though they contribute to the social welfare of society through the basic concept of the job. It is important for workers to see the graduated clients come back and show how they are maintaining their newfound productivity in society. The Fervin has twice annually an event for current clients to hear from past clients about their transition to society and how the Fervin has helped them maintain their status. This event will encourage workers to believe in what they are doing and allow for the meaningfulness to come full circle, providing more motivation and satisfaction with their jobs.
6. A desirable future
   1. While the Fervin is in nature a vertical and horizontal system with open system theory, the staff at the Fervin should not be fearful of the lack of upward promotion. Since the employment is job specific (meaning employees are hired for their specific job due to certifications, degrees, ), the majority of the jobs at Fervin are unable to be promoted from within. However, in regards to this, there are other opportunities for employees to cross train, receive monetary promotions that are not inclusive of new duties, and to be aware that their jobs are not stagnant. Fervin does provide upward Promotions for the jobs falling under the Director of Facilities. Also, all Officer, Manager, and Director positions are to be hired from promotion from within so that the leadership can have direct knowledge of the jobs that fall under them.

Leadership:

Leaders within Fervin Day Center are to be chosen based on performance, leadership abilities and skills, and desire to better their departmental team. Leaders of the Fervin will come from each specific department and are separate from the managers or officers that are in supervision roles (Stojkovic et al., 2015). Leaders will be expected to provide team leading exercises, know the staff in their department, engage in activities, and provide encouragement and motivation to each staff member. Leaders will go through extra training provided by the Training Staff and will earn incentives unique to their department for further leadership and team building activities. Leaders will create departmental symbols and mascots to encourage department spirit and provide a fun and uplifting environment (Stojkovic et al., 2015). On the more serious side, leaders of each department are expected to know their staff members on a more personal and intimate level in order to determine when stress shows on an employee so that proper action can be taken to reduce the stress and increase the satisfaction of the workplace.

 

For example, Leaders should be aware of family’s of employees. If an employee is to become a father, the leader is to recommend them for a two-week paternal leave to supervisors. Paternal time off is paid leave to provide support for the new family and to allow for the employee to reduce stress and find more satisfaction in the workplace.

Socialization:

The socialization of the organization members can be determined by the organizational culture (Stojkovic et al., 2015). Given the nature of Fervin Day Center, being a rehabilitation center for offenders, most employees are going to be aware of the goals, beliefs, and assumptions shared by the vision of the Center (Stojkovic et al., 2015). During the hiring process and interviews, all new employees will be expected to read and understand the mission statement and vision statement of the Center. Through the statements and the purpose of the Fervin, employees should gain insight into the beliefs of the organization, including the norms, mores and sanctions (Stojkovic et al., 2015). Once employees are hired, the folkways will be taught through the initial week-long shadowing of current employees to learn the ways of conduct and behavior (Stojkovic et al., 2015). Codified mores will be in the employee code of conduct manual that all employees must read and sign before they begin working at the Center. Socialization is thought to be an ever evolving philosophy at the Center, due to the extreme environmental factors that influence the daily procedures. Through the evolution, all employees are expected to be aware of the primary goals of the Center and abide by all Center rules and regulations, as well as all legal contracts and obligations.

 

Workplace Structure:

Fervin Day Center operates as part of an open system, with vertical and horizontal complexity. Fervin is considered an open system because of the influence the outside environment has on the Fervin’s operations (Stojkovic et al., 2015). Through an open system, organizations are influenced by changes in legislation, resources, financial input, and other major changes in the environment in which the organization are embedded (Stojkovic et al., 2015). Fervin greatly relies on the outside environment to impact the daily and annual operations. Since the Center is a not for profit organization, all funding comes through governmental and community support. While the Center is not a non-profit, all of the profits, or funds, given to the Center are returned to the Center through either staff salaries or upkeep and updates. The influence of the local court has a large impact on the operations of the Fervin since all clients are offenders who are sent to the Fervin as part of a front end deferment of the sentence. Through the intertwined nature of the Center and the community, the Fervin is ever changing and evolving to fit into the environment and social interactions.

Additionally the Center has vertical and horizontal complexity, as seen on the organizational chart.Through the complex organizational system, the vertical complexity is used to ensure supervision and conformity to State rules, regulations, and laws. Given the legal nature of the Fervin’s goals, the need for vertical complexity is required to maintain integrity and legitimacy (Stojkovic et al., 2015). While the vertical complexity is important, the horizontal complexity is a key component to the success of the Center, due to the motivation and job satisfaction of employees. Through the horizontal complexity, the staff is encouraged to share tasks, support one another and work together to form a community within their department (Stojkovic et al., 2015). The horizontal complexity creates an even work balance and allows employees to make strong bonds with one another while lightening the workload to provide a good workplace environment as highlighted in the Job Characteristics.

Conflict Management:

 Conflict is a necessary evil of any organization, and, unfortunately, the Center is unable to escape all conflicts. Personal, group, intra-organizational, and inter-organizational conflict does happen. However, the management of conflict and conflict resolution are more important for the success of the Center (Stojkovic et al., 2015). Given the vastly personal nature of the Fervin, personal conflict occurs when employees or clients are unable to express their personal expectations to their superiors (Stojkovic et al., 2015). When employees or clients do not see an immediate change in behavior, it is possible for them to feel the personal conflict that can result in frustration towards the organization (Stojkovic et al., 2015). In effort to manage personal conflict Fervin employes consciousness-raising interventions between supervisors and managers with any staff member or client that is experiencing personal conflict (Stojkovic et al., 2015). By discussing the causes of the personal conflict in a non-threatening environment with a one-on-one mediation, the personal conflict should be able to reach a resolution and create a trusting bond between the employee or client and the supervisor. This bond should is fostered, through follow-up discussions to ensure the conflict remains resolved and not a point of resentment.

Group conflict occurs at the Fervin when clients and employees are unable to see eye to eye on interpersonal issues, which are integral to the modification of the client (Stojkovic et al., 2015). Group conflict is the most visible conflict at the Fervin because of the complexity of the tasks from all staff, the vastly different personalities that are rotating through the Center (clientele), and the competition for resources due to the Center being a not for profit organization. Group conflict has many facets that enable the members of the Center to find conflict in a variety of ways. While group conflict can be as intimate and personal as direct between an employee and a client, group conflict can be as wide as intergroup conflict that includes all members of the Center and the outside environment that influences the open system (Stojkovic et al., 2015). In order to manage all types of group conflict, multiple conflict management tools will be utilized to provide quick resolution. These conflict management tools include truce, collaboration, cooperation, interdependence, and in specific instances interaction management for an employee to employee conflict, or client to client conflict (Stojkovic et al., 2015). The Fervin will NOT utilize confrontation as a form of conflict management as this type of assertive behavior, and aggressive tendencies are directly being treated in cognitive behavioral treatments. All group conflict management is suggested to go through the stages of resolution but are to start with step two of creating a truce and then proceeding. All resolutions are to include a third party member to mediate the resolution and provide insight as to compromises that can be made to create the cooperation between the conflict parties.

All intra-organization conflict is to be brought up through the chain of command and dealt with by the Board of Directors if the Directors of Support, Facilities, and Operations are unable to come to a resolution amongst themselves. The Board of Directors is to are included on all changes in organizational structure, which will be brought to a vote by the Board and implemented by the lower level directors. Any vertical, horizontal, line-staff, role conflict is to be brought to the direct supervisors of the conflicting parties who will then find the appropriate method to resolve the issue (Stojkovic et al., 2015). If a not cooperative method can be reached to resolve the conflict, the Board of Directors is to determine the course of action, which can include termination of any or all parties involved in the unresolved conflict.