Analysis of Selected Agency

 
Analysis of the Selected Agency
Assignment Overview
As a consultant, you need to develop an in-depth analysis and evaluation of the selected agency’s planning, organizational design, decision-making process, and implementation, and then provide recommendations for improvement. Therefore, you will conduct interviews with agency representatives and research related academic sources, the agency’s website, or any government website. The analysis will be read by the VP of accounts and client support, as well as by the leaders of the agency for whom you are working.
Assignment Instructions
Write a 5–7 page paper in which you:

Describe the history of the selected agency and department by explaining its reasons (goals and objectives) for being established. Title this section History of [Selected Agency].
Analyze the organizational design of the selected agency and specific department by describing the design and organizational chart. Assess its effectiveness in making major policy decisions and providing services to its primary recipients. Title this section Organizational Design.

Include a figure of the current organizational design within the text of the paper.

Recommend a redesign of the agency’s structure to better serve the needs of the department’s businesses without jeopardizing the goals and objectives of the agency. Explain your reasoning for changing the design, and explain the change’s impact on the agency’s effectiveness in delivering quality services. Title this section Assessment of Organizational Design.

Include a figure of the new organizational design within the text of the paper.

Analyze 2–3 major milestones, factors (internal or external), or actors affecting the agency’s success and their influence on the effectiveness of the agency’s planning, organizational design, decision making, and implementation. Also, analyze 2–3 possible causes (internal or external) that appear to have the effect of impeding the organization’s implementation of its policy and meeting its goals and objectives. Title this section Evaluation of Planning and Implementation.
Recommend 2–3 strategies (from the previous criterion) that the agency could implement to improve its effectiveness in the areas of planning, decision making, organization, and implementation, by explaining each recommendation and providing reasons each recommendation would bring about improvement. Title this section Recommendations for Planning and Implementation.

Include a cause and effect diagram in the text of the paper.

Provide the completed PAD599 Interview Template for 1–2 interviews, putting this information in the Appendix under Interviews.
Go to Basic Search: Strayer University Online Library to locate and list 4–5 relevant and credible outside resources that support the content of this assignment. Include no more than one non-government website.
Note: Follow the

Guidelines for Interview Assignments at Strayer University

provided in the Assignment Preparation in Week 1.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
Be typed and double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, your name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The sections must have appropriate titles. The cover page, reference page, and the appendix pages are not included in the required assignment page length. The assignment must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document.
The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:
Conduct an in-depth analysis and evaluation of an agency’s planning, organizational design, decision-making process, and implementation, and provide recommendations for improvement.

Agency Chosen Administration for Children and Families 

*Interview Guidelines*   

For your assignments in this course, which will become a major part of your portfolio, you will take on the role of a consultant for a government agency. As part of your Week 2 assignment, Rationale for Agency Selected, you will interview at least two representatives of your chosen agency’s department for the different sections of the paper.

• If you can obtain more than two different interviews, do so. The more perspectives, the better.
• Interviews can be conducted in person, by phone, or by an electronic method such as email.
• Review the PAD599 Interview Template [DOCX] to prepare for your interviews.

  Fill in the interview template for each assignment to document your interviews, prepare your questions, and record your interviewees’ responses for use in your assignments throughout the course.

• Note: Follow the Guidelines for Interview Assignments at Strayer University, below.

Guidelines for Interview Assignments at Strayer University

Before students engage in an interview assignment, they must adhere to the following guidelines:

• The purpose of the assignment is to train students in interview/research methods, not to develop or contribute to research that can be applied to situations beyond that studied or that is created to share with others beyond the local setting.
• No publication of projects containing the results of, or information from, the interviews is allowed, including publication in social media, blogs or the Internet generally. The interview findings may only be shared in the class.
• When presenting the results of their interviews to their instructor and/or classmates, students may not disclose personally identifiable information about an interviewee, unless they have received written permission from the interviewee, as verified by their instructor.
• All interviewees must be at least 18 years old.

  **Interview Template attached**

***Paper will be ran through SafeAssign, score can not be higher than 25%***

Timing	PAD599 Interview Guide
Before the Interview	Locate the names and contact information of people to interview. (These may be on the website or you may need to call the general information number.) Contact the representative(s) and introduce yourself as a Strayer University graduate student completing your Capstone Course. Inform him/her that through your Capstone Course you are reviewing the agency and serving as an informal student consultant and request a 30- to 45-minute interview. Inform him/her of the major areas you will be addressing: · Organization’s structure. · Cooperation with other government or not-for-profit agencies and legal decisions. · Human Resources management. · Budgeting. State that all information will be for an academic paper only, will not be published in any written or media format, nor used for any type of copyrights. Request specific dates and times for the interviews. Remember, interviews can be by phone, in person, or by email. (If by email, request a date you can send the questions. Inform person of the date you need the responses.) Also note that one person may be in a position to discuss several of the assignment areas. Be sure to look at all the assignment questions to formulate relevant questions for better responses. Review the agency and department prior to the interview and gain as much information as possible in the time you have. You do not want to waste any time or go past the time allowed for the interview. Write or computer-generate the questions you plan to ask. Number your questions so you can reference the question number as you take notes. For example Assignment 1 Question 3 could be labeled as 1.3, and so forth. Familiarize yourself with your list of questions. Ask the interviewee for permission to send a suggested list of questions to be covered during the interview several days before the interview takes place. This will save time during the interview. If the interviewee responds to the questions prior to the interview, review the questions and be prepared to discuss any answers for which you need more information, or for which you would like to gain more experience of the subject matter.
During the Interview	Be courteous and respectful, especially of the person’s time. Be prepared and professional in tone and speed of communication. Ask clear, specific questions. Follow up any brief, incomplete, or vague comments with questions such as, “Could you give an example?” or “Would you explain that a little more?” Ask if there are other sources (people, documents, websites) that would be helpful. Thank the person for his / her time. Send a thank-you note by email or regular mail. Contact any person he or she recommends and follow the same protocol as outlined in this interview guide. Also, inform the recommended person of the person who recommended him or her for your contact.
After the Interview	Type up your notes right away. Align the representative’s answers with the appropriate questions. Align the representative’s comments with research you have done in the area(s). Point out in your paper how the representative’s comments were supported by or differed from the research. Hypothesize reasons discrepancies may exist.

© 2012 Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not be copied, further duplicated, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without expressed written permission of Strayer University.

PAD599 – Interview Template

PAD 599 Faculty Version 1124 (1090 1-26-2012) Final

Page 5

Week 4 Assignment: Analysis of the Agency Selected

			Student’s Name				Section
			Agency				Department
			Person(s) Interviewed				Medium (Phone, email, in person, identify if other)
			Interviewee’s Position				Date(s) of Interview

			Area				Topics for Questions
History	Ask about reasons (goals / objectives) for being established as well as identifying / explaining the major milestones or changes since being established.
Organizational Design	Ask about the design and organizational chart, decision makers, and the process involved in making major policy decisions.
Organizational Design’s Effects	Ask about the effects (positive and negative) of the agency’s organizational design and decision-making process on its employees and primary recipients of services.
Challenges and Successes	Ask about the agency’s challenges, its successes, and the things that need improvement regarding planning, organizational design, decision making, and implementation.
			Future Plans	Ask about the agency’s future plans for organizational design, decision making, and implementation that are expected to affect the agency’s operation and its primary recipients.
			Recommendations	Ask about any recommendation they might have for improvement in the areas of planning, decision making, organization, and / or implementation.

Insert your questions for this area and each representative’s responses here.

© 2012 Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not be copied, further duplicated, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without expressed written permission of Strayer University.

Week 6 Assignment: Evaluation of Agency’s Ethics, Cooperation, Leadership, and Legal Decisions

Student’s Name

Section

Agency

Department

Person(s) Interviewed

Medium (Phone, email, in person, identify if other)

Interviewee’s Position

Date(s) of Interview

Area

Topics for Questions

Future Plans

Recommendations

Political Factors	Ask about ways in which political factors (e.g., political appointments, political competency, and policy making process) specifically and generally impact the agency.
Judicial / Legal Factors	Ask about ways in which judicial factors (e.g., the legislation connection, oversight, administration law, stakeholders, and strategies) have had an impact on the agency.
Leadership	Ask about ways the internal agency leaders and / or political leaders have influenced the agency.
Ask about the agency’s future plans for cooperation, leadership, and legal decisions that are expected to affect the agency’s operation and its primary recipients.
Ask about any recommendation they might have for improvement in the areas of cooperation, leadership, and legal decisions.

Insert your questions for this area and each representative’s responses here.

© 2012 Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not be copied, further duplicated, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without expressed written permission of Strayer University.

Week 8 Assignment: Evaluation of the Agency’s Human Resources Management

Student’s Name

Section

Agency

Department

Person(s) Interviewed

Medium (Phone, email, in person, identify if other)

Interviewee’s Position

Date(s) of Interview

Area

Topics for Questions

Future Plans

Recommendations

Human Resources Management	Ask about system, processes, and methods for effective human resource management in the public sector.
Employee Relations / Conditions	Ask about trends regarding 3–4 of the following conditions: (1) unions and collective bargaining; (2) maintaining an effective workforce; (3) federal laws about discrimination; (4) sexual harassment; and (5) political rights.
Ask about the agency’s future plans for human resources management, noting how they are expected to affect the agency’s operation and its primary recipients.
Ask about any recommendation they might have for improvement in the areas of human resource management.

Insert your questions for this area and each representative’s responses here.

© 2012 Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not be copied, further duplicated, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without expressed written permission of Strayer University.

Week 10 Assignment: Evaluation of the Agency’s Budgeting and Cumulative Report

Student’s Name

Section

Agency

Department

Person(s) Interviewed

Medium (Phone, email, in person, identify if other)

Interviewee’s Position

Date(s) of Interview

Area

Topics for Questions

Future Plans

Recommendations

Budgeting Overview	Ask about the components of effective budgeting for the selected agency, highlighting the purposes of budgeting, sources of revenue, and challenges resulting from today’s economic downturn.
Political Influences	Ask about the major political influences on and primary accountability areas required of program administrators.
Differences in Planned and Actual	Ask about any differences between the agency’s planned budget for a selected year (within last three years) and its actual budget.
Ask about the agency’s future plans for budgeting that might affect the agency’s operation and its primary recipients.
Ask about any recommendation they might have for improvement in the areas of budgeting, sources for revenue, and efficiencies.

Insert your questions for this area and each representative’s responses here.

© 2012 Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not be copied, further duplicated, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without expressed written permission of Strayer University.