Discussion Response 6

Please Respond to the 1 & 2. Please ensure both responses have references. Thanks.

This is what I Wrote:

Healing centers are part of the human service providers; meaning that they share the same core principles. In the social service trade, promises carry a lot of value that reflects back to the service providers effectiveness. The assertions should be upheld to help enhance the value of the organization and create a reliable customer base.
The situation described here is where a Healing center that promised free community seminar to the society is contemplating on whether they should charge a nominal fee for participation. The charges are to pay the staff overtime. The method suggested by the financial stakeholders is unethical since it goes against the basic values of the National Organization for Human Services. The Saint Leo Universitys core value of integrity would be compromised if such a solution would be encouraged. Integrity for human service providers refers to the preservation of all promises made by the organization regardless of the current standing (Carter, 2009).
The most recommended solution for such a situation is through the application of community as a human service core value. The director is to remind the stuff on what being a service provider entails. By being a human service provider, the staff members should put the value of their work first before anticipating payments. According to Banks and Williams (2005), the satisfaction of the clients is the prime goal of social service providers.
Human service providers are tasked with various challenges that require long-term meditations to come up with a solution. Ethical dilemmas give a hard time to social workers because the most reliable solutions to their problems are usually unethical to their industry. The above challenge for example is expressing how the most reliable solution that is charging for participation for seminars goes against their promise, which undervalues their integrity. The most reliable solution is to encourage community teamwork within the staff to obtain free labor that will provide the promised delivery of service.
References
Banks, S., & Williams, R. (2005). Accounting for ethical difficulties in social welfare work: Issues, problems and dilemmas. British Journal of Social Work, 35(7), 1005-1022.
Carter, B. H. (2009). Saint Leo University: A Values-Based Education. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, PO Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI

Respond to:

1. N

The ethical dilemma here I feel could have been avoided and still has solutions that are possibly workable or have work arounds now that the seminars have already started. The first thing is for the organization to first remember what their mission is. Is it quality caring service to the community?  Is it to keep the employees happy? Or is it to appease and make the financial stakeholders happy?

(Freeman, 2009) stated; For any business to be successful, it must create value for its customers, suppliers, employees, communities and financiers. You cant look at any one of those stakeholders in isolation. Their interest has to go together.

Freeman also stated that all he considers stakeholders as customers, suppliers, employees, community and financiers; can work together towards a common goal and accomplish all that they wish to accomplish, but you cant have one pulling away and working as a sole entity without regards to the others or it would fail.

If The Healing Center feels that the financial stakeholders are more important than the community, the other stakeholders and more importantly their mission and objective of the organization, then it probably should change its mission statement and possibly become an organization that focuses on financial gain or not be considered a nonprofit organization.

(Phillips, 2003) states; These owners wish to have the value of their investment maximized. Managers who fail to maximize share-holder wealth are not respecting this wish; they are spending, indeed stealing, anothers money. But his conclusion also states that; At a minimum, stakeholders are those groups from whom the organization has voluntarily accepted benefits. By doing so, the organization has incurred obligations of fairness to attend to the well-being of these stakeholdersat least insofar as their well-being is affected by interactions with the focal organization. This will typically include groups such as financiers, employees, customers, suppliers, and local communities. (pp. 56, 57)

During the organization stage of the creating the seminar, the manager should look at the finances as stated before of costs to be incurred including salaries. Once that was determined;

Ask staff for volunteers with possible compensation of maybe a few hours off without having to use their annual or sick leave. Maybe come in a couple of hours later or leave early one day. Employees would love to have one day off with pay to do whatever they want to do, even have an extended weekend.
Ask staff for ideas on marketing and advertising in ways that would not tax the organization too much financially, since the focus is to gain more community involvement

But pretty much lying to your targeted stakeholders leaves the integrity of the organization in question. (Phillips, 2003) states; How a manager is to evaluate the relative contributions of financier capital, employee effort and expertise and customer loyalty in making allocation decisions bears no easy prescription.

Saint Leo University core values that focus on integrity and community addresses the importance of community and upholding the integrity of the institution. It states;

Community:  Saint Leo University develops hospitable Christian learning communities everywhere we serve. We foster a spirit of belonging, unity, and interdependence based on mutual trust and respect to create socially responsible environments that challenge all of us to listen, to learn, to change, and to serve.

Integrity:  The commitment of Saint Leo University to excellence demands that its members live its mission and deliver on its promise. The faculty, staff, and students pledge to be honest, just, and consistent in word and deed.

Consistent in word and deed.  That is the key. You must be consistent in your words and actions. Community stakeholders pay attention to organizations who say one thing and do something else. Without your community buying into your organization, you really risk having a failed organization.

Freeman, R.E., (2009). What is Stakeholder Theory : . (n.d.) slulibrary.saintleo.edu

Mission Statement & Core Values: Saint Leo University. Mission Statement & Core Values / Saint Leo University. (n.d.). https://www.saintleo.edu/mission-core-values.

Phillips, R. (2003). Stakeholder Theory
and Organizational Ethics. https://web.a.ebscohost.com.saintleo.idm.oclc.org

Repond to:

2. O

The stakeholder definition encapsulates how an individual or group of individuals affect or are affected by the objectives of an organization in some way (Alexandra et al, 2016). In this scenario the financial stakeholders requests may be vital to sustainability of the agency. The ethical stakeholder conflict is promising free resources for information to the community, whilst pushing the director to charge the community a small fee for attending the various seminars. Instead of pushing the director to charge a fee, the financial stakeholders should analyze the organizations management strategy to prevent the staff from working overtime. Ethical aims enable agents to construct, evaluate, and revise their views of a problematic situation (Robert, 2003). The director needs to assemble available evidence into a coherent picture, which indicates what action should be taken being mindful at what goals they are aiming for (Roberts, 2003). The case study seemed to suggest that, just like the discussion scenario, theres an issue resolving certain problematic issues with the directors decision-making. Forming a mutual trust, and not contradicting the promise made to the community for free services, and honoring your word, as the SLU values implore will prevent conflicts of interest.

Reference:

Alexandra, Dina et al. (2016). The Strategic Involvement of Stakeholders in the Efficiency of No-Profit Sport Organizations: Form a Perspective of Survival to Sustainability. Brazilian Business Review. http://dx.doi.org/10.15728/bbr.2017.14.1.3

Phillips, R. (2003). Stakeholder Theory and Organizational Ethics. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Saint Leo University Core Values