Reference no: EM133116187

Case Activity:

The Women''s Agency of Schaefer City offered a full range of services to women, including counseling, educational interventions, and career development programs. Services were offered by a combination of professionals, paraprofessionals, and volunteers, with self-help and peer counseling important components of most programs.

The one agency program that depended solely on professional service deliverers was the health center, located in a separate building but overseen by the same board of directors and administration. The health center dealt with a variety of women''s health needs and offered family planning and first-trimester abortions. Although medical service was provided by physicians and nurse practitioners, all counseling was provided by women with degrees in psychology, counseling, or social work.

For the abortion clinic, this approach worked very well. Each woman who came in for the abortion procedure talked first with a counselor, who took a medical history, answered any questions about the procedure, and explored the woman''s readiness for taking this step. The process of exploration often led women to reconsider their options; certainly the decision-making process was enhanced.

This program was placed in jeopardy when severe cutbacks in funding for the total agency took place. There was no consideration of eliminating the abortion clinic itself; the cutbacks, however, were to affect the counseling aspect of the program. By cutting the number of professional counselors from nine to three, enough money could be saved that the number of women served could remain constant. The agency''s administrator chose to limit the intake counseling interviews to 20 minutes each. In that time, medical information could be obtained and information about the procedure given.

The reaction to this cutback was immediate and strong. All of the professionals associated with the abortion clinic recognized that the suggested change in staffing patterns would be devastating, not just for the women losing their jobs but for the program itself.

From the patients'' viewpoint, the problem involved the fact that they would be deprived of the opportunity to consider their decisions with assistance from skilled helpers. Although they would have factual information, many of them would regret their decisions, which could have lasting effects.

The change also seemed serious in terms of the wellbeing of the professionals still offering services. No longer would they have the opportunity to provide empathy and help to people in crisis. Instead, they would be spending their time with person after person, giving and getting information in an assembly-line approach. They would not be able to stay with patients through the medical procedure or provide emotional support later. Instead, they would stay in their offices, maintain business as usual, and quickly burn out.

Given the fact that the agency had to survive with fewer resources, how could financial cutbacks have been implemented more effectively?

What leadership behaviors may be appropriate at a time like this?

What principles or tactics of organizational change could have been used to reach a better outcome in terms of results and effects on staff?