Jessica Delleola Group 2

8/12/2019 Jessica Delleola Group 2

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Management PlanGoals andobjectivesStrategiesBusinesspolicies forcustomersStore

policiesfor employees


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W H AT I S A MA N A G EMEN T PLA N ?

W H Y D O ES Y O U R O R G A N I ZATI O N N EED A MA N A G EMEN TPLA N ?

H O W D O Y O U D EV ELO P A MA N A G EMEN T PLA N ?

H O W D O Y O U EVA LU ATE A N D A D J U ST A MA N A G EMEN TPLA N ?

Whether your organization is a one-person volunteer operation or a multi-program giant withdozens of staff, it needs a management plan to make sure that it operates smoothly and getseverything done. The plan for a tiny organization can obviously be a lot simpler than that for ahuge one, but the intent in both cases is still the same: to carry out the mission of theorganization and the day-to-day tasks needed to support that mission and keep the organizationrunning as effectively as possible.

WHAT IS A MANAGEMENT PLAN?

A management plan is a blueprint for the way your organization is run, both day-to-day and overthe long term. It includes the standard methods for doing various things -- handling money,dealing with the actual work of the organization, addressing the way people in the organizationdo their jobs -- and the overall philosophical and intellectual framework in which these methodsoperate.

The management plan for your particular organization depends on a number of factors:

What is the organization trying to accomplish? A neighborhood initiative that exists toachieve a single goal -- keep a historic building from being torn down, preserve a piece ofopen space, build a playground -- has very different management needs than, say, ahealth clinic that plans to serve the community for years. Issues that are both importantand ongoing for the clinic (staff pay and benefits, for instance) may simply not exist forthe other organization.

What actually needs to get done day-to-day to keep the organization running? The actualtasks that keep the organization alive, maintain its standing with funders and thecommunity, and allow it to accomplish its goals, need to be carried out efficiently and ontime. Who's responsible for that, how many people will it take, and what are themechanisms that will allow it to happen for your particular organization?

What degree of freedom do people at all levels of the organization need in order to dotheir jobs well? If nothing can get done without going through several layers ofmanagement, the organization isn't going to be very effective.


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What are the resources available for carrying out a management plan? How manyadministrators could the organization support, given its finances? If the answer is one (orone part-time), your management plan will look very different than it would if the answerwere three.

How does the management plan fit in with the mission and philosophy of theorganization? It's important, both for the internal workings of the organization and forthe way it's viewed in the community, that there be consistency between what theorganization says about itself and the way it runs. If an organization claims to bedemocratic, but keeps its staff totally powerless, it is not only violating its own principles-- and thereby making it less likely it will accomplish its goals -- but also compromisingits reputation.

WHY DOES YOUR ORGANIZATION NEED A

MANAGEMENT PLAN?Granted, a lot of work goes into keeping an organization going. Why can't it just get taken careof as it comes up? Why go to the trouble of creating an actual plan for just doing what needs to

be done?

Except for the last, the points below all apply to organizations with a number of staff members.But even a one-person organization needs some management planning. When do bills get paid?How do you relate to other organizations and entities? Will you have a bank account? These areall management issues. If you are a really small organization, you may not need a formal plan,

but it's still important to do some planning.

The general answer here is that your organization is too important for you to leave things tochance. If there's no plan, everyday tasks may fall through the cracks, emergencies may arisewith which no one knows how to cope, responsibilities may not be clear, and--the bottom line--the work of the organization may not be done well or at all. A good management plan helps youaccomplish your goals in a number of ways:

It clarifies the roles and responsibilities of everyone in the organization so thateveryone knows what she and everyone else is supposed to do . Staff members knowwho they need to go to for information, consultation, supervision, etc. They also knowwhat the boundaries of their own positions are -- when they can do something withoutchecking with someone else, and when they can't.

It divides the work of the organization in reasonable and equitable ways, so thateveryone's job is not only defined, but feasible.


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Before you make changes, it's important to negotiate them with those who'll be affected. If theydon't agree to a new set of rules, you'll have a difficult time putting those rules in place. Try tolook at change as a process that occurs over time. If you want to change the style or

philosophical structure of your organization's management -- especially if you want to change it

drastically -- you may have to start with small elements and work toward a larger change. Thatmay seem frustratingly slow, but it may lead to better results in the long run.

Although the number of management models described in this section is limited, there are, infact, infinite varieties combining aspects of two or more. The issue here is not what box you canfit into, but what you think will work for your organization, given the people involved and thework that needs to be done. You might want to be collaborative in some areas and not in others.Your board may set some, but not all, policy. Try to consider what results particular aspects of amodel will have, and don't be afraid to try something new.

D EFI N E TH E R O LES A N D R ELATI O N SH I PS A MO N G TH E B O A R D ,D I R EC TO R , A N D STA FF

Roles and relationships are crucial to the smooth operation of the organization. There are anumber of questions you need to ask as you define these in a way that suits your organizationand gives you the management results you want:

Where are the limits of everyone's authority?

A classic problem in non-profit organizations of all sorts is the struggle for power between thedirector and the board. Such struggles are not inevitable -- in fact, many, perhaps most,organizations never experience them -- but they are common enough that avoiding them should

be a priority. Good directors are usually strong individuals, and good boards are usually made upof strong individuals. If they all work together, they can create a powerful organization; if theywrestle for control, they can handicap, or even destroy, an organization. Therefore, clearlydescribing the scope and limits of everyone's authority is extremely important.

How and when are they expected to work together? On which, if any, issues is decision-making a shared process? Shared by whom? What are the lines of communication among them? (Can the board give instructions

directly to staff, for instance? Can staff contact the board directly about issues in theorganization? Or does all communication go through the director or some other specific

person?) How will disputes among them be resolved? Do board, director and staff agree about how the organization is run? Conflict in this area

can quickly cripple an organization.

A young organization that was essentially a collaborative had a board chair who had hadconsiderable experience on the boards of other, more traditional, organizations. She viewed her


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role, and that of the board in general, as "The Boss," and felt that it was her and their prerogativeto dictate policy without discussion. The director, on the other hand, was passionate about thecollaborative nature of the program, and saw the board as only one element of many in thegovernance structure. Although they were personally quite fond of each other, the clashes

between board chair and director were monumental and often public. The conflict was difficult

for everyone, and wasn't effectively resolved until the board chair's term ended, and she wasreplaced by someone much more sympathetic to the collaborative model. It was only at that pointthat the organization actually jelled, and was able to plan its future development.

Spelling out the answers to these questions in job descriptions, board information, employeehandbooks, etc. is one way to address this area of concern. Another is to be extremely careful todescribe the roles and relationships when hiring a director or staff person, or when taking on new

board members. Most important is to try to hire people who share the organization's concept ofhow it should operate.

PR EPA R E C A R EFU LLY TO H I R E TH E R I G H T PEO PLE FO RMA N A G EMEN T PO SI TI O N S

If you hire an authoritarian as the director of a collaborative organization, you will have seriousdifficulties (no "may" or "might" here). By the same token, if you hire someone who doesn'tclearly understand what kind of management philosophy you have in mind, or who isn't capableof fostering the relationships necessary to make your model work, it won't work. Hiring the right

people is probably the most important thing you can do to make sure that the management planyou've devised is successfully carried out.

An alternative to choosing and developing a particular management structure is to hire the person

you're sure you want and go with her management preferences. This works best if theorganization (and the staff) has no passionate philosophical leaning toward one model or another.Hiring a terrific person who's a bad fit with the organization is often worse than hiring someonefar less competent who's a good fit with the organization.

The right person, on the other hand, can -- with charisma, excellent interpersonal skills, andeffective management -- bring a resistant organization around to a new way of thinking. It's atough call, especially since it's seldom possible to get a complete picture of the person you'rehiring from a resume, some references, and one or two interviews.

How can you be sure that the people you hire will do the job you want them to do? The shortanswer is that you never have an absolute guarantee, but there are a number of things you can doto increase your chances.

Explain the organization's management model as precisely as possible, so no jobapplicant will have any question about what she's walking into, and won't find anysurprises (beyond the inevitable ones that go with every job) if she takes the position.


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Try to structure the interview so it mirrors as closely as possible the management modelyou have in mind. In this way, you can get a sense of the applicant's comfort with thesituation, and of his skill in handling it. This information should be helpful when youmake your choice.

Ask questions and use probes that really get at the applicant's philosophy of management.What does her past experience tell you? What would she be willing, and not willing, todo as a manager or administrator?

Use the applicant's references well. Ask his former employers and colleagues about hismanagement style, his relationships with others in the organization, the ways in which hemight solve a particular problem, etc.

Listen to your instincts. If someone makes you uncomfortable or feels "wrong," that'ssignificant: don't ignore it, no matter how great her resume looks. If you have a sense ofthe people you're looking for, you'll know at least some of them when you see them.

EX A MI N E W H AT N EED S TO B E MA N A G ED

Whatever the management looks like, there is usually some agreement about what in anorganization needs to be managed. The broad categories are people; money; supplies andequipment; activities; and relationships with the outside world (funders, the media, thecommunity, target population, etc.) Each of these categories should have a set of policies and

procedures that addresses whatever you can think of that might come up in that area.

Another, and extremely important, responsibility of management is to pursue the goals of theorganization. In general, these goals are subsumed in the five areas mentioned. If a goal, forinstance, is the acceptance of the organization in the community, that goal becomes part ofrelating to the outside world. If a goal is to provide ever-improving service to a particular

population, that goal becomes part of the management of the organization's activities. The realityis that you should never lose sight of your organizational goals, because they define all five ofthese categories of management for your organization.

Not all of these management areas have to be addressed by the same person, although in smallorganizations they probably will be. In larger organizations, there are often assistant directors or

program directors who oversee one area or another. If the organization is large enough, thedirector may delegate much of this work.

As with the rest of this section, considering each of these management categories has to be donewith an eye toward the mission and philosophy of the organization. There is plenty of room herefor making policy that's inconsistent with what you say you believe in, so it's important to askyourself how what you're developing will fit in with your mission statement. If you're anempowerment organization, a restrictive and punitive personnel policy doesn't make sense, forinstance. If one of your goals is to help low-income people learn how to manage money, yourown money management should be as organized and efficient and frugal as possible (no fancyfurniture or expensive offices). You need to practice what you preach, or the lesson is lost.


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People: personnel management

People are the most valuable part of any organization, and often the most difficult to manage.Personnel management encompasses a number of areas:

How, and how well, staff members do their jobs. Relationships among people in the organization. Supervision: who supervises whom and how often, what supervision means for the

organization, what kinds of records are kept, what is done with them, and who has accessto them.

Quality-of life issues: staff compensation and benefits, work hours, leave policy, etc. Staff training and ongoing professional development. Hiring, firing, appeal, and grievance procedures. Legal or other regulations involving personnel, such as ADA (Americans with

Disabilities Act), funders' requirements, non-discrimination in hiring, etc.

Money: fiscal management

Although you may hate the thought of it, your organization is, in many ways, a business, and youhave to manage your finances just as any other business does if you're going to continue tooperate. Fiscal management includes:

Day-to-day management of the money you actually have: taking care of payroll, paying bills, billing others, handling cash flow, deciding where and when to make purchases ofmaterials, supplies, and equipment.

Accounting: keeping the books. Financial planning: finding new resources, tying financial planning to organizational

goals, looking for sources of income to replace others that may be drying up, decidingwhat to do if money is short.

Fundraising. Banking, investment, and capital development: taking care of the money you have,

dealing with a surplus, and handling money specifically meant to be used for the long-term health and development of the organization.

Goods and services

Just buying what you need for your organization to run isn't the end of the story.

Equipment maintenance and repair: keeping track of regular service schedules for copiersand other office equipment, as well as specialized machinery your particular organization


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may use to do its job (medical devices, for instance, or vehicles); getting equipment fixedor replaced when it breaks down.

Training and updates for those who need to use particular equipment, whether computersand software or something more complicated.

Ordering materials and supplies when needed, with an eye toward the total amount ofmoney available for them.

Keeping track of the price and quality of goods and services, and changing supplierswhen necessary.

Establishing and maintaining relationships with the companies and individuals fromwhom the organization buys goods and services.

Defining who gets what when: who has access to what equipment, how much does eachstaff member get to spend for supplies for her position, etc.

Activities What your organization actually does is usually the reason it exists. Keeping careful track ofwhat goes on and how is therefore fundamental to the success of the organization. Among themanagement necessities here are:

Making sure that the organization's activities are carried out in the way they're meant to be.

Tracking the results of what you do, and attempting to find ways to improve youreffectiveness, even if it's already high.

Evaluating the organization's activities, with input from staff, the target population, and,if appropriate, the community at large.

Planning for change and improvement, based on evaluations and assessment of results. Continually reassessing the needs of the target population, the field, or whatever is

appropriate, to make sure that what you're doing is, in fact, aimed at accomplishingwhat's necessary.

Keeping up to date on best practices and processes, so that you can take advantage ofnew and proven ideas, methods, and techniques.

Updating staff training as the organization's activities or methods expand or change.

Relations with the outside world

If your organization aims to serve the community in some way (or is dependent on thecommunity for resources or good will) then your management plan better include some ways forthe organization to become recognized as part of the community. If your organization getsfunding from state agencies, foundations, or other funders, it's important to establish and


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maintain good relationships with both the individuals who oversee that funding and with thefunding institutions as a whole.

In reality, organizations don't deal with other organizations or communities: people deal withother people. The positive personal relationships that your organization's director, board, andstaff members establish go a long way toward strengthening your organization's credibility andstanding with funders and the community. A management plan that addresses this issue mightinclude:

Encouraging the director or other staff to be members of community and/or otherorganizations, and to assume positions of responsibility in those organizations whereappropriate.

Establishing, where possible, collaborative relationships with other groups and agencies(e.g. referring participants back and forth, sharing staff and equipment, or writing joint

proposals, funding for which would benefit both organizations). Keeping a high profile in the community.

One program director made it a point never to turn down an opportunity to speak to a communitygroup or to publicly support other agencies (delivering a keynote to United Way major donors,

participating in a Big Brother/Big Sister fundraising event, turning out at a rally for a homelessshelter, etc.). He tried to make sure that the organization's name appeared in the newspaper on aregular basis, if only in public service announcements about program activities. As a result, most

people in the community were aware of the program and the services it offered, and thought of itin a positive way.

Making it a matter of policy to assist other community groups and agencies whenever possible.

Making sure that the director and staff establish and maintain personal relationships withdirectors and staff of other organizations.

Establishing and maintaining personal relationships with the appropriate people atfunding agencies.

Cooperating with funders by getting paperwork in on time, conforming to rules if youhave agreed to do so, and generally trying to make their work easier.

Establishing and maintaining relationships with representatives of the media (reporters,editors, station managers, etc.).

W R I TE PO LI C I ES A N D PR O C ED U R ES FO R EA C H MA N A G EMEN TA R EA

Policies are the official rules, structures, and philosophical principles that guide an organization.Procedures are the actual ways in which policies and the work of the organization are carried out.


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process, your management plan should be complete, and it's time to get to work and put it into practice.

IN SUMMARY

The management of your organization is too important to be left to chance. Having amanagement plan will allow you to shape the organization the way you want to, and will make itmuch more likely that your work -- the reason for the organization's existence -- will beeffective.

To develop a management plan that works for your organization, you should think carefullyabout what's consistent with your mission and philosophy (and what your organization saysabout itself). Then, with that in mind:

Consciously choose or design a management model that will comfortably fit the

organization and will accomplish your purposes. Define the relationships among director, board, staff, and volunteers to conform to the

needs of effectively operating the management structure you've chosen. Develop, with appropriate input from those affected, a comprehensive set of policies and

procedures to cover the five essential management areas: people; money; supplies andequipment; activities; and relations with the outside world.

Design a regular system and schedule for evaluating and adjusting your management plan, so that it will continue to function successfully.

When you have a management plan that seems right for your organization, you've completed anecessary step on the road to effective action.

Jessica Delleola Group 2

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