Public Children Services Organizations Analysis Paper Example

Introduction

Public children services organizations are public entities such as Tennessee children department which offer protection and welfare to children who are vulnerable to emotional, physical, and sexual exploitation and neglect. Strategic planning in public children services organizations is key towards developing functional and dynamic children service organizations. This essay will assess how strategic planning in children services is influenced by ethics, diversity, mission and vision statements and the interaction of social networking in the strategic plan of public entities.

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Strategic Planning Impact of Mission and Vision Statements

Tennessee Children Services Department has established a mission and vision statement which are used to communicate to third-party stakeholders on the role and goals of the organization. Tennessee Children Department in its website identify critical values such as the recognition that children do best at home, the need to strengthen foster families, the role played by forever families and the overall need to maintain children welfare as a priority (Department of Children Services, n.d). The statements help the organization to retain a sense of direction and purpose as it relates to other stakeholders such as donors and professionals providing different services.

In strategic planning, decisions are laid out upon an organization long term goal and in Tenessee Children Department mission and vision statement reflect every strategic decision made which ensure long-term consistency of the organization in achieving its overall purpose (Department of Children Services, n.d). Therefore, mission and vision function in strategic planning is a form of communication tool to the public and employees to ensure that there is a consistency in values and principles regarding the services offered by the organization regarding children welfare (Abraham, 2013). Using the vision and mission statement in governance Tennessee government has invested in support staff education to improve their competency and capacity to meet the organization purpose.

Impact of Organization Definition and Dimension on its Purpose in the Society

Public organizations such as the children services department are established on values that shape its overall purpose and function in society (Wolf & Floyd, 2017). In serving children, children services department in Tennessee is based on value statements that define the organization direction and conduct of the employees and leaders (Department of Children Services, n.d). The definition of the organization using values ensures that new employees and leaders can be able to continue with their predecessor activities in the organization without a change in dimension.

Tennessee Children Department is built on the values of children wellbeing, forever families, belief that children do best at home and the need to improve foster families capacity (Department of Children Services, n.d). As such, these values set the organization strategic direction and roles of different stakeholders who are entrusted with the organization purpose. Public sector leaders are required to adhere to the organization values without deviating from the set direction (Wolf & Floyd, 2017). In this case, leaders should strengthen the existing organization values and roles for public entities instead of changing the organization values to ensure that the organization purpose remains unchanged even when leadership changes.

Social Networking and the Strategic Planning Function

Social networking is the process of setting websites and applications which are used by organizations to interact with stakeholders who have similar interests such as donors and potential foster families (Rooksby & Sommerville, 2012). Social networking today has expanded the ability of organizations to communicate with other stakeholders continuously and more strategically. Social networking is used today as a communication platform for organizations to communicate the organization strategies to its stakeholders.

Social networking is a form of public relations which gives an organization a greater audience and helps public organizations to easily articulate their strategic plan using creative tools such as a social media strategy wheel which is an infographic that can help summarize tremendous strategy information into a more focused presentation to stakeholders (Rooksby & Sommerville, 2012). Using social networking public organizations can be able to back up their existing strategic plans using human stories which is crucial in reinforcing what the organization seeks to achieve by highlighting the stories of their achievements such as successful foster family transitions and engaging the community regarding the need to provide homes for vulnerable and needy children.

Ethics & Diversity Realms

Ethics and diversity are essential in public children services organizations governance by determining the values and strategic direction taken by the leadership of the organization. Ethics refers to the accepted code of conduct or behavior as well as value tenets in decision making that dominate public organizations that offer children services (Cornelius, 2002). Recognition of diversity in the organizations and the community helps promote policies and children services guidelines that respect people from different backgrounds without discrimination. In the United States, society is highly diverse in terms of ethnicity, religion, political affiliation and race.

Children services policies adopted by public organizations that are charged with the responsibility of safeguarding the rights of vulnerable children should adopt a more broad view in terms of diversity to be able to provide services which recognize the existence of diversity (Chin & Trimble, 2015). Children services public organizations should continuously develop the capacity and capability of the service providers to provide culturally competent services for the satisfaction of all stakeholders involved (Chin & Trimble, 2015). In terms of ethical principles, public organizations offering children services should be able to develop a set of practice standards and values such as care, concern, and respect to the children and the foster families which is critical in ensuring the success of the organization's strategic plan.

Future Trends and Gaps in Research Literature

In the future, there is the need for more application of technology and strategic planning in children services management to improve service access and continued support for the adopted children and the foster families (Benn & McLoughlin, 2013). Future support for children in foster homes should go beyond basic needs to be able to promote positive outcomes in terms of health and education for the children (Benn & McLoughlin, 2013). The development of technology makes it easy for the children service organizations to provide greater communication of the organization needs and attract private sector stakeholder's support in improving the welfare of the children.

There are gaps in research in terms of the impact of diversity in children services management. Today, the community is very diverse with children having different needs based on their background which needs to be accounted for in the children services organizations decisions such as foster families and the support accorded to such families (Lopez, Hofer, Bumgarner, & Taylor, 2017). Besides, there is a gap in research in terms of the extent to which social networking is used today in communicating organization plans to stakeholders. It is essential for children service organizations to observe ethical and diversity instruments regarding providing children services to improve the children experience and welfare.

Conclusion

Children services organizations duty is to provide services to vulnerable children and foster families to improve the welfare of the children. The mission and vision statements of public children services organizations are vital in establishing organization direction and values that should be considered when making strategic decisions. Social networking today is an essential avenue for organizations to communicate their mission and visions in regards to providing children services. The vision and mission statements define a public organization's overall purpose and strategic plans to stakeholders. Therefore, strategic planning in children service organizations should be founded on the organization mission, values, vision, ethics and the nature of the society in terms of diversity.

References

Abraham, S. C. (2013). Strategic planning: A practical guide for competitive success. Bingley, UK: Emerald.

Benn, J., & McLoughlin, D. (2013). Facing our future: Social media takeover, coexistence or resistance? The integration of social media and reference services. Retrieved from http://library.ifla.org/129/1/152-benn-en.pdf

Chin, J. L., & Trimble, J. E. (2015). Diversity and leadership. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Cornelius, N. (2002). Building workplace equality: Ethics, diversity, and inclusion. London: Thomson.

Department of Children Services, Tennessee. Strategic Plan 2017 - 2019. Retrieved from https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/dcs/documents/about-us/TN_DCS_Strategic_Plan_Grid_Final.pdfLopez, M., Hofer, K., Bumgarner, E., & Taylor, D. (2017). Developing culturally responsive approaches to serving diverse populations: A resource guide for community-based organizations. NAT'L RES. CTR. ON HISPANIC CHILD. & FAMILIES, 3. Retrieved from https://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/2017-06/cultural-competence-guide.pdf

Rooksby, J., & Sommerville, I. (2012). The management and use of social network sites in a government department. Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), 21(4-5), 397-415. Retrieved from https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1111/1111.5454.pdf

Wolf, C., & Floyd, S. W. (2017). Strategic planning research: Toward a theory-driven agenda. Journal of Management, 43(6), 1754-1788.