Political Labyrinths
Assume that you are the executive director of a grassroots community-based organization in your area. During an environmental scan, you and your team identified two political issues that will affect your organization’s direction. You maintain a blog to keep your community informed of your organization. For this assignment, you are to write a blog post of 700 words examining the influences of the political issues. First, describe your organization (you can choose one from your community or create your own). Second, identify the two political issues. These should be real and contain details. For example, in Denver, the legalization of marijuana has impacted many community-based organizations. Third, discuss how these political issues will impact your organization. Finally, make three recommendations of how your organization will adapt to these political issues. Your response should be supported with at least 3 outside resources and be formatted in APA-style.
The main pollical issue we have in my community is the problem is the doing away with sanctuary city Many family are being broken because of ICE raiding houses and deporting and separating children from their family. I think this is horriable so I hope this is what you can write about . Thank you
Texas governmentor bans sanctuary city.
https://www.immigrationadvocates.org/nonprofit/legaldirectory/organization.393347-Kids_in_Need_of_Defense_Houston_Office
PROFESSOR NOTES
Introduction: Organizations and Their Community Environments
Last week, we discussed social capital and the value community-based organizations should place on these networks of relationships. Now, we are moving on to examine the broader aspect of community and the influence of the community on organizations.
Organizations do not operate in isolation; rather, they are connected and influenced by external forces such as the political landscape, the government, shareholders, the public, cultural organizations, ecological concerns, trade unions, and more. The success of community-based organizations to conduct outreach can often depend on these external forces and the organization’s understanding of their influences.
One important tool community-based organizations can use to gauge their effectiveness and to design and alter programs is to conduct what is known as an environmental scan. According to Shockley-Zalaback (2011), an environmental scan is “[t]he acquisition and use of information about events and trends in an organization’s external environment” (p. 324). An environmental scan provides information about trends and opportunities for change that can drive an organization. Essentially, the scan enables an organization to look into the future and make informed decisions on opportunities. It is a proactive measure that helps an organization remain relevant in today’s rapidly changing world. One key aspect that is often overlooked, however; be sure to communicate the findings of an environmental scan to the stakeholders!
While the process may vary per organization, the general steps of an environmental scan tend to be similar.
1. First, you must collect the external data that relates to the organization. External factors may be demographics, political, social, cultural, technological, geographic, or other forces. Fabbe-Costes, Roussat, Taylor, and Taylor (2014) suggest a thorough examination is necessary, including the use of social media and the internet to gather data.
2. Next, you must examine the internal information, including interviewing employees, examining budgets, identifying skills, and labor relationships.
3. Collate the information and present it in a SWOT analysis. The SWOT analysis examines an institution’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The SWOT is presented in a matrix for easy interpretation. SWOTs can combine both internal and external factors, or it can be presented separately with two SWOTs. From the SWOT, especially the opportunities, an organization can help determine its new directions.
4. Now, you must share the SWOT analysis with the stakeholders. Information is only relevant when shared with others!
“The art of life is a constant readjustment to our surroundings.”
– Kakuzo Okakaura
References: Fabbe-Costes, N., Roussat, C., Taylor, M., & Taylor, A. (2014). Sustainable supply chains: A framework for environmental scanning practices. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 34(5), 664-694. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1520633158?accountid=87314
Shockley-Zalabak, P. (2011). Fundamentals of organizational communication: Knowledge, sensitivity, skills, values. New Jersey: Pearson Education.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this week, students will be able to:
1. Explain the relationship between organizations and their environments (Aligns with CLOs 5, 6)
2. Analyze the ways in which environments influence organizational effectiveness (Aligns with CLOs 5, 6)
3. Develop strategies for modifying organizational goals to community-level issues (Aligns with CLOs 5, 6)
4. Assess the effectiveness of various outreach strategies (Aligns with CLOs 5, 6)
Overview
| Assignment | Due | Format | Value |
| Social Forces and Community Organizations | Day 3 (1st post) | Discussion Forum | 3 |
| Political Labyrinths | Day 7 | Journal | 8 |
| Environmental Scan and SWOT Analysis | Day 7 | Written Assignment | 8 |
| Self-Check Quiz | Day 7 | Self Check | 0 |
| Total | 19 |
Resources
Required Text
McKnight, J. & McKnight Plummer, J. (2015). Community organizing: Theory and practice . Retrieved from https://redshelf.com Chapter 12: Navigating the Political Labyrinth
Required References
Mauldin, M. D. (2013). State use of community-based organizations to advance urban revitalization policy: The case of the front porch Florida initiative. Journal of Public Management & Social Policy, 19(2), 180-188.
Philadelphia Fed. (2014, June 12). Neighborhoods by the numbers: Data-driven tools for neighborhood revitalization [Video file]. Retrieved fromhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQiEUg9tJBUube (Links to an external site.)
Recommended References
Chalmers, D. (2013). Social innovation: An exploration of the barriers faced by innovating organizations in the social economy. Local Economy, 28(1), 17-34.
Chandra, A., Williams, M., Plough, A., Stayton, A., Wells, K. B., Horta, M., & Tang, J. (2013). Getting actionable about community resilience: The Los Angeles county community disaster resilience project. American Journal of Public Health, 103(7), 1181-1189.
Douglas, G. C. C. (2014). Do-it-yourself urban design: The social practice of informal “improvement” through unauthorized alteration. City & Community, 13(1), 5-25.
Gothan, K. F. (2013). Dilemmas of disaster zones: Tax incentives and business reinvestment in the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. City & Community, 12(4), 291-308.
Hu, Q., Kapucu, N., &; O’Byrne, L. (2014). Strategic Planning for community-based small nonprofit organizations: Implentation, benefits, and challenges. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 19(1), 83-101.
Leviten-Reid, C., & Hoyt, A. (2009). Community-based home support agencies: Comparing the quality of care of cooperative and non-profit organizations. Canadian Journal on Aging, 28(2), 107-20.
Ransom, P., & Shelley, D. (2006). What can community organizations do for tobacco control? Journal of Health and Human Services Administration, 29(1), 51-82.
Tanenbaum, S. J. (2012). Consumer-operated service organizations: Organizational characteristics, community relationships, and the potential for citizenship. Community Mental Health Journal, 48(4), 397-406.
Taylor, P.L., & Cheng, A.S. (2012). Environmental governance as embedded process: Managing change in two community-based forestry organizations. Human Organization, 71(1 ), 110-122.
