Organizational Theories in Human Service Organizations

Running head: ASSIGNMENT 1: INDIVIDUAL WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT
ASSIGNMENT 1: INDIVIDUAL WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1ASSIGNMENT 1: INDIVIDUAL WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT
Introduction:
Human service organizations (HSO) are the organizations that aim to meet human needs
through an interdisciplinary knowledge base. They focus on the prevention of human problems
as well as remediation of problems along with maintaining a commitment in order to improve the
overall quality of human life of the service population1. The operations of these organizations are
critical and have various aspects to pay heed. In a similar aspect, the paper aims to discuss two
different organizational theories in order to examine an HSO. The HSO considered in this paper
is Mount Isa Base Hospital in Queensland, Australia. The paper also discusses the core principles
of relevant theories in order to critically examine the organization along with the importance of
organizational analysis skills for social work that are drawn from personal experience.
Theory 1:
In the book, Reframing organizations: artistry, choice and leadership (1991), Lee Bolman
and Terry Deal outlined a four-frame model. The model is widely known and used for
understanding organizational structure across the globe. The four perspectives are called
‘Frames’ by Bolman and Deal. According to Bolman and Deal, leaders need to look after the
organizational issues and look at the issues from four perspectives, working with only one
habitual frame will result in the leader's risk being ineffective2. The four frames of the Deal and
Bolman are 1. Structure 2. Human resource 3. Political and 4. Symbolic.
1 Almog-Bar, Michal, and Hillel Schmid. "Advocacy activities of nonprofit human service organizations: A critical
review." Nonprofit and voluntary sector quarterly 43.1 (2014): 11-35.
2 Fruehauf, Justin, Fahad Al-Khalifa, and Joseph Coniker. "USING THE BOLMAN AND DEAL'S FOUR
FRAMES IN DEVELOPING A DATA GOVERNANCE STRATEGY." Issues in Information Systems 16.2 (2015).

2ASSIGNMENT 1: INDIVIDUAL WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT
Structural: The structural frame focus on the ‘How’ of change concentrating on strategies,
clarifying tasks, setting measurable goals, and responsibilities and reporting lines, creating
systems and procedures and agreeing on metrics and deadlines.
Human resources: The main focus of the HR frames is on people’s needs. It concentrates on
giving power and opportunity to the employees in order to let them perform in better ways. In the
same time they also, address the employee’s needs for human contact, job satisfaction and
personal growth3.
Political: The political frame involves the problem of individuals or group of people who have
conflicts in regard to hidden agendas, specifically the times when the budget is limited. During
this time, organizations have to make difficult choices. The situations of coalition-building,
power based building and conflict resolution work are seen in this frame4.
Symbolic: According to the symbolic frame, people’s needs for a sense of purpose needs to be
addressed and meaning needs to be associated. It aims to inspire people by making the
organization’s direction feel distinctive and significant. The framework also involves
recognizing superb performance and creating a motivating vision by company celebration.5
In Mount Isa Base Hospital, the four frames were to clearly pay special care. The
structure of Mount Isa Base Hospital the concentration on setting strategy was one of the main
concerns. The organization would conduct a monthly meeting to ensure every member is aware
of its duties and responsibilities. The human resource would take care of the salary of the
3 Björnsdóttir, Steinunn Arnþrúður. "The Gatekeepers of Change:: Strategic Planning in the elci and the Role of
Pastors." Ecclesial Practices 3.1 (2016): 5-29.
4 Carlson, Mark E. The Role of Trustees, Presidents, and Chief Financial Officers in Long-Term Capital Investments
at Small Colleges. Diss. Endicott College, 2016.
5 Sowell, Steven. "Building a new paradigm: Analysis of a case study in organizational change in collection
management using Bolman's and Deal's four-frame model." Collection management 39.2-3 (2014): 211-226.