Essay Example on Boys & Girls Club: Helping Chicago Youth Reach Their Potential

Introduction

The boys and girls club of Chicago is a non-profit organization that has been known to use its income to ensure that the youth are monitored and molded into achieving their goals and attaining their full potential. The organizations help most of the teens who need guidance and direction in the community. The organization has been part of the community since it was founded and many of today's successful adults were part of the foundation during their youthful years. Youth who have no one to take care of them are often taken under the club, and the stakeholders of the organization meet their needs. The boys and girls club of Chicago has been a source of inspiration to many youths and has taken care to ensure that no teenager is left to cater for themselves. The children in the organization are allowed to discover the talents that may help them become productive members of society. The youth in the organization also interact with teens from different cultures and ethnical backgrounds thus promoting diversification of culture.

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The organization offers a clean and transparent record of the projects done and funds allocated to each project. The internal stakeholders of the charity project are people who out of their own volition have decided to serve the organization and undertake in related activities as members of staff, members of the board, volunteers, and donors to the projects, among others. These stakeholders are devoted to ensuring the success of their endeavors. The external stakeholders are people who have seen the organization's work is done and are impacted by it. They include clients, constituents, community partners, and leaders from other private sectors. The youth organization desires to have an impact on both the internal and external shareholders to attract even more shareholders.

At the top of the organizational structure, we have the board of directors. The board members have knowledge and experience concerning the youth and issues affecting them, and they, therefore, make rules and regulations to be followed and oversee all the projects being done. They are volunteers and are not paid for the services they render to the organization. Second, we have the executive staff who are responsible for the daily undertakings of the water organizations. They are closely watched and supervised by the board of directors. After the administrative staff, we have the managerial team who are tasked with working directly with clients. They provide the required services to affected clients in their daily operations. Lastly, there is the administrative staff who help both the managerial and the executive team with their duties including scheduling appointments and answering any calls to the higher staff.

Ethics and rules made in the organization have to be followed to the latter. The central ethic code is to ensure that at no point should the organization deviate from its mission. The mission should always be the driving force of the organization. All members of the organization, including the board, should practice transparency and honesty. Transparency should go hand in hand with accountability. All the projects that are done and funds used should be kept in the open and be accounted for. Embezzlement of funds is not in any way tolerated. All funds are for the sole purpose of completing the objectives of the charity organization. All the stakeholders of the organization are not to expect any compensation for the services rendered since they volunteered to serve the purposes of the organization.

Data Collection

From the interview conducted with the charity organization's sight administrator, there is moral conduct that is expected from all the people partaking activities in the charity organization. All the stakeholders are required to practice honesty and accountability in their dealings in the organization (Geer, Maher & Cole, 2008). This rule is critical because all the funds are to be allocated to ensuring completion of all projects with the youth. Every penny should, therefore, be accounted for to ensure maximum utilization of the provided resources. Measures are taken to ensure there is no embezzlement of funds, and on the occasion that a gap in funds is discovered, every member of the organization from the board to the executive staff is summoned and asked to provide a detailed report of their work. The members that have direct access to the organization fund account for the gap, and in this way, the organization can catch the perpetrator.

The leaders of the organization who are mostly among the board members have to be role models to the other staff; they have to conduct themselves with the highest decorum (Agard, 2010). By observation, it is evident that the leaders practice team-building with the other staff (Thomas, Jacques, Adams & Wooten, 2008). They encourage and give advice to the other members of the organization and appreciate the excellent work that they are doing in making sure that the organization meets the objectives. In this way, the board members are also training their subordinates in leadership skills in the hope that one day, they would take over the mantle of leadership from them. The leaders were friendly, and they pointed out mistakes done by other staff in a forward but subtle way to ensure that they do not offend the other staff. These acts promoted cohesion and raised team spirit among the working staff.

The administrative management ensures that there is a proper and fair division of labor among the members of staff. The leaders organize the charity programs in such a way that the input required from the staff is stretched over some time so that they divide the work into smaller quantities. This method makes sure that the members of the team are not frequently fatigued from work that they do (Buckingham, 2011). The leaders of the organization may also partake in the daily activities by directly helping the clients to create a sense of togetherness and show humility. The leaders act as mentors to the other stakeholders and in this way, attract more individuals and other organizations, which may wish to be part of their mission (Rekha & Ganesh, 2012).

Analysis

The organization has various strengths that help them in their mission to achieve their goals. There exists a systematic hierarchical structure within the organization, from the board of directors, the executive staff, and the managerial staff to the administrative staff. This system allows the supervision of the work and input of all members of the organization and promotes accountability and honesty (Purdy, 2012). There is a systematic flow of power, and each level of staff is fully aware of the duties that they are supposed to undertake. A problem arising in the organization can quickly be sorted out merely by finding the origin of the problem and the responsible parties. Each level of staff reports directly to the ones above, thus promoting an efficient way of communication from the administrative staff to the board of directors and vice-versa. The different levels of staff are also in close contact with each other, promoting friendly co-existing.

Another strength the organization possesses is the evaluation conducted in choosing the board directors. The board members have to be experienced in the field, constituting the organization and have knowledge of the overall processes and projects to be undertaken by the organization. This method ensures that the board members do not deviate from the core purpose of the organization (Carman & Frederick, 2010). They also can provide solutions to any problem that may arise in undertaking their projects since they are well versed in the field, and as a result, their subordinates develop faith in them and the course of the organization. The board members are responsible for decision-making. They have to decide on what interest is best suited for the organization and which methods applied will have a high impact on both the internal and external shareholders.

There exist weaknesses in the organization despite its numerous strengths. Members of the organization often fall victim to ethic violations such as dishonesty and embezzlement of organization funds. Members may decide to use the organization resources for their selfish gains, and these results in uncompleted projects in various areas of interest. Members use resources that would have otherwise been used in helping societies with direct access to funds thus causing redundancy. Measures are taken to conduct investigations on misused funds also require the usage of other organization resources and consumes a lot of time. Some members of the organization staff also tend to have poor interaction skills, thereby hindering the creation of a good rapport between the team and the affected clients. A good rapport is crucial for the attraction of more stakeholders.

The organization aims to have an impact on both internal and external shareholders and thus creates an opportunity for more people to align themselves with the organization. This impact is an opportunity in that as more people bear witness to the exemplary work that the organization does, more people will desire to be part of it, to be part of changing lives just as the organization does. This method will increase the number of donors hence ultimately increasing the resources at the organization's disposal. An increase in resources, in turn, promotes growth and development.

The threats faced by the organizations include the uncertainty of support from internal and external shareholders. The shareholders are the main source of resources in the form of finances and human labor input, and since their participation is voluntary, they could withdraw at any moment without facing any consequences. Withdrawal of shareholders means a reduction in financial support. The organization, therefore, cannot be sure of financial stability over the coming years.

Conclusion

The organization partakes in programs that have a tremendous and positive impact on the lives of youths in various societies. The youth are the leaders of tomorrow and making sure they are taught the correct ethical code is vital. Spending time with the youth in the club was a pleasant and memorable experience. Members of the organization have proven to be selfless and caring in committing their lives to provide for those who lack and ensure comfortable living conditions for the disadvantaged. The leaders of the organization have proven to be good role models to the shareholders and have put sufficient efforts in training their subordinates in ethics, moral conduct, and excellent leadership skills. As a result, the leaders equip staff members to take over leadership once their time arrives and can continue the cycle.

References

Agard, K. A. (2010). Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations: A Reference Handbook. Sage.

Buckingham, H. (2011). Hybridity, Diversity, and the Division of Labor in the Third Sector: What Can We Learn From Homelessness Organizations in The UK? Voluntary Sector Review, 2(2), 157-175. Doi: 10.1332/204080511X583832

Carman, J. G., & Fredericks, K. A. (2010). Evaluation Capacity and Nonprofit Organizations: Is The Glass Half-Empty or Half-Full. American Journal of Evaluation, 31(1), 84-104. Doi: 10.1177%2F1098214009352361

Geer, B. W., Maher, J. K., & Cole, M. T. (2008). Managing Nonprofit Organizations: The Importance of Transformational Leadership and Commitment to Operating Standards for Nonprofit Accountability. Public Performance & Management Review, 32(1), 51-75. Doi: 10.2753/PMR1530-9576320103Purdy, J. M. (2012). A Framework for Assessing Power in Collaborative Governance Processes. Public Administration Review, 72(3), 409-417. Doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2011.02525.x

Rekha, K. N., & Ganesh, M. P....