Management Dilemma

Management Dilemma

To assess your ability to synthesize the skills of management in making necessary adjustments to an established plan. Overview It is now nine months into the year of your plan. Things have been going pretty well over all. You are a little behind on your goals but feel that it is not a problem, that you are building momentum and that the best months are right around the corner. However, in a strange twist of events, a number of setbacks begin to present themselves. Do you remember Tom Ingram, the executive director who suddenly left Better Health for greener pastures? Tom has kept in contact with some of the people at Better Health, including the top person in your department. Top has succeeded in wooing that person away for nearly double the salary you were able to give. One of your best part-time people and two of your most consistent volunteers have come to you with similar stories – the economy has been hard on them and they need to find full-time employment. The volunteers promise to come back as soon as possible but don’t know when that will be. Just when you lose some of your best people, there is a spike in the demand for your department’s work. With a rise in unemployment, more people in the city are seeking help from Better Health of Central Ohio. This demand is felt most heavily in the Development Department which means a lack of funding ripples throughout the organization. Finally, the economy has been hard on the entire organization. Within days of loosing the personnel mentioned above, Charles informs you that he needs a significant amount of your approved budget back in order to pay general operating expenses. “I know you have just lost some of your good people, but we are all going through a rough time right now. We are requiring this of each department.

We need to keep pushing forward with just a little bit less.” You announce to your people the need to do more with less and soon the grumbling begins. “I thought we had a reserve…” is the common theme that is circulates. You don’t hear all of it directly but it gets back to you through a few people. You also see it on most everyone’s faces. You share the concerns with Charles. He assures you he understands and explains that is part of the reason that he needs to reclaim some of the money from your budget. But he also emphasizes that the strategic plan is still in place. He and the board are confident that the setbacks will be temporary. Charles does ask you, though, to revisit your plan and make adjustments so that you can come as close as possible to reaching your goals while maintaining the mission and vision of the organization and staying within the guidelines of the strategic plan. Therefore, Charles has directed that each department adjust their new budgets that included the approximately $200,000 of each department’s plan be reduced by $50,000. Charles expects you to respond this dilemma immediately. Action Items Assuming the same role, you will be called up to make adjustments to the work you have done. Review the Better Health of Central Ohio Case Study, including the Organizational Overview and Financial Statement presented in Better Health Association. For this assignment, you need to perform the following tasks in the template document provided. Remain in the same role in Better Health Association. Review the Mission, Vision, and Strategic Goals. Revisit and update your Plan, Organize, Lead, and Control documents submitted weeks two through five. Describe and explain any or all aspects of your recommendations for your department, per the announced budget cuts. Explain how your adjustments allow you to reach Better Health’s strategic goals. Copy MANAGEMENT DILEMMA_template.docx to your computer. Follow the instructions [IN BRACKETS] to complete the template document. Note: As stated in the Control assignment, the business environment is constantly changing which can adversely affect the best thought-out strategic or tactical plan. Therefore, this is an opportunity for you to assume the leadership role of a department head that must make key decisions regarding necessary adjustments to a department’s goals and direction.